Path of Sand: A Kankuro Story
by HimeFlye
Summary: "I know you lied to us before. Do not lie to me again" The Kazekage said. "Tell the truth this time." Kankuro felt like he was pressed between two brick walls. How was he supposed to explain time travel to his father when he didn't understand how it had happened himself? All he had wanted to do was save Gaara. . .
1. Chapter 1: Lord of Suna

_Disclaimer: "Naruto" is owned by Masshi Kishimoto_

Author notes: _Wow. So, I've been working on this story for forever. But it's finished now, all five (hopefully wonderful) chapters of it. Even if it's not perfect, it's time to post it and move on. There's more to life then Kankuro and Gaara, not much more but some. _

_I would like to give a special thanks to Staraz who beta read these chapters for me (I kind of lost track of her and feel guilty coming back for a last chapter edit after months of not contacting her, so if chapters four and five are bad, that's because she wasn't there to give her personal touch on things.)_

_Thanks for all your help Star. _

_So, without further adieu I introduce 'Path of Sand' _

_Please tell me what you honestly think, and look forward to updates weekly, since this story is all finished. Happy reading. :)_

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**~Path of Sand: A Kankuro story~**

**Chapter One: Lord of Suna**

"Gaara!" Kankuro tried to call for his brother but his own voice was slowly fading, his vision blurred and dark. Pain laced through his entire body as he watched Sasori of the Red Sand walk away. He could only barely make out the form of a white bird carrying an unconscious Gaara away. "Gaara!" Then everything went black and cold.

.

.

.

It was hot; much too hot. Kankuro slowly opened his eyes. He groaned and rolled over, wiping sand away from his skin with his sleeve; it had even gotten into his face paint which was normally good protection from the climate of the desert. Shakily he stood. "I'm not dead. . . " He whispered, looking at his hands, where there were bits of blood on his fingertips. "But. . . " He gritted his teeth and stood.

The Akatsuki members were gone. . . Gaara was gone. There weren't even footprints in the sand, and Karasu . . All the puppets, there weren't even pieces left. "But. . . No!" He clenched a fist. That piece of Sasori's cloak, the one he had only barely managed to get with Karasu's hand before he passed out, that piece of cloth. . . It was possibly the only key to finding Gaara before they killed him. Kankuro was sure that that was their intentions. However if that were the case. . .Why where they so determined to take him away rather then killing him on the spot? Surely they would not keep someone as powerful as Gaara alive for any longer then necessary for their purposes. He didn't know what those purposes where, or what these men were playing at, but they had to be stopped.

Kankuro's thoughts were abruptly interrupted at the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. He spun, preparing for a fight he was in no way ready for.

Two Anbu level black ops stood in front of him. Kankuro breathed a harsh sigh of relief, "You! Get reinforcements! They went West. Hurry up!"

"I think he's had too much sun," one man said to the other. Kankuro didn't recognized the voice, immediately he was on his guard,watching them warily, though they both bore Suna forehead plates and carried the weapons familiar to the desert people. "What the. . . " He swore, quietly "Come on get going! I just fought Sasori of the Red Sand. I don't have time for your jokes!. If we don't do something. . ." His fists clenched tighter, "We have to hurry!"

The two anbu looked at each other. "Come with us." They commanded. Kankuro gritted his teeth. They didn't have time for this but. . . He couldn't go after Gaara himself. It was impossible, not like this, not without weapons. "Alright," he said, shutting his eyes and taking a breath, "but lets hurry!" He took off towards Suna. The Anbu followed, taking up positions on either side of him, They were following him, watching him; not like he was the leader of the team. . . But the prisoner.

.

.

.

"What the? . . ." Kankuro started, freezing in place.

"What?" the Anbu behind him demanded.

"The gate. It. . . "

"What?" The second Anbu drew a kunai. Kankuro stared at him, raising his hands. "I'm unarmed. Relax okay? I _know_ that gate wasn't a genjutsu. What happened?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about. I don't think you're even a Suna nin." the Anbu said. "Now you have to come with us, we're taking you to Lord Kazekage for questioning."

"But Ga. . . " Kankuro clamped his mouth shut. What was going on? He stared as they walked through the front gates of the village. They were as good as new, no sign of last night's destruction that claimed the lives of nearly his full team. Not only that, but people walked about, children played, and shops ran their business; as if none of it had happened. As if their Kazekage hadn't just been kidnapped the other night. What happened? Kankuro wondered again, walking slowly.

When they reached the center of the village Kankuro shook his head silently. It looked different. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly was different, but something definitely was. His mind worked to grasp it as they led him up the stairs, past guards standing in the hall. This wasn't right. They were behaving as if Gaara was still around when they should have been gathering the counsel, should have been out looking for their Kazekage. They led him pass the large meeting room where four stone statues stood. Kankuro stared angrily. What the _heck _were they doing? They were acting like Gaara was already dead! Then he realized that the fifth monument had never been there. There was no sign of. . . _Oh crap_. Kankuro thought as they passed the monument alcove and stood in front of a closed door. Somehow, it managed to look even more daunting and foreboding than it always had.

"Lord Kazekage, we found this man about two miles away from the city. He claims to have battled, missing nin, Sasori of the Red Sand."

Kankuro stepped into the office and froze.

"Very well. What happened?" The Kazekage demanded. His dark eyes shown like little hallow points. His imposing figure standing to the side of the desk, white and blue robes swaying as he stood like a stone, his face molded like a hard mask.

_Father_. . .

Luckily the words didn't escape Kankuro's thoughts. He wasn't sure rather he felt hate or fear most. His emotions ran so high he felt dizzy and stumbled to his knees—something that looked respectful to those in the room, but was really caused by a sudden wave of nausea.

"You fought Sasori?"

Kankuro mumbled something, he wasn't sure what to think or do.

"And you lived through it. You must have great skill," The Kazekage said.

Kankuro tried not to laugh in contempt, slowly standing. It wasn't often his father complimented him. And now, when it was so important to find the Kazekage, the _fifth_ Kazekage, his father decided to talk to him; not recognizing that the shinobi who stood before him was his eldest son. "I barely made it," Kankuro said carefully, only barely managing to keep his voice calm and emotionless. "He's extremely strong."

"I don't recognize you. We haven't heard from Sasori in years. How do we know you are not working for him?"

Kankuro almost laughed again, but only because he was so close to breaking. "You don't," he said gruffly. "I am a puppet master of Suna. I was traveling for a short time. On my way back to the village, I met him."

"Your name and rank," the fourth Kazekage demanded.

_ AM I alive? _Kankuro wondered,Trying to force his thoughts to clear. _ Temari? Gaara?. . . __Mom?_

The Kazekage cleared his throat. "You name." he repeated, voice raising.

"Kankuro. . . " _you idiot!_ "um. . . "

The Kazekage glared.

"Bunraku, Kankuro " Kankuro said quickly. _Come on, you have to focus now. . . _

"Kankuro. . . Well, I require any information you can give us about Sasori. He is a missing nin, abandoning this village almost ten years ago. Though he hasn't made any attacks as yet, he is still reason for concern."

Kankuro felt a chill _No attacks uh? Does kidnapping Gaara count?_ "He has bad intentions against. . . "_ Crap Kankuro! You can't just go blabbing. You're not even sure what's going on! You can't keep running your mouth._ "He . . . said that he hated the village. He wanted revenge someday. He said something about being proud of his puppets, but that he was leaving for a while. He was just crossing through I suppose, I don't know his intentions. I didn't recognize him. I. . . "

They were loosing patience with him. He wasn't making sense. It occurred to Kankuro, that the best way to make a believable story was to tell the real one, or at least a version of it.

"He had another man with him, they kidnapped my brother. I don't know why. I went looking for them and got attacked." he said, feeling a short lived bit of relief that they seemed to be listening now rather than plotting his death. "He has puppets that I can't even comprehend. He destroyed all of mine and I thought he had killed me. I guess that's all I saw before I passed out. I'm not sure how long ago that was. He could be anywhere by now."

The Kazekage nodded, turning his back and looking out the window, in a position that reminded Kankuro so much of Gaara that he was ready to be sick again.

"Your brother. Who's he and why would Sasori target him? He must be someone of importance."

"I don't know why," Kankuro said through gritted teeth, "And no, he's not important."

"What's his name?"

Kankuro forced his thoughts to clear. He had to be careful. "Naruto" He finally said. His mind began working the facts out. If it was ten years since Sasori of the Red Sand left the village, Kankuro himself would be almost nine, Temari would be eleven, Gaara would be six. Something like that. The name Naruto was safe then, and since Gaara held such respect for the leaf genin, Kankuro didn't feel _too_ guilty name swapping with the yellow haired brat, though he still needed more excuses. Who were they? Where did they live? His father would have paperwork on everything, everybody.

"We live east of here, the outpost." He seemed to remember there being some such thing back than. . . or now. . However it worked.

"Are you a mentor of the new training academy there?" The Kazekage asked.

"Yes." Kankuro said, then cringed. He had just made himself easy to find.

"And your brother?"

_Gaara. . . _Kankuro shook his head quickly. "He was going to be a student there this year. I don't know why Sasori would want him, he's completely useless."

The Kazekage nodded. After a long pause, he finally turned from his station at the window and faced Kankuro directly. "The battle was obviously hard on you. Please, my guards will show you our medical facilities. My brother works there and he will check your injuries."

That was it? He wanted Kankuro to have his wounds checked? No more questions? It didn't make sense. Even Kankuro knew his story contradicted it's self multiple times, the story simply didn't fit together. Once his father looked through the files he'd know it was an all out lie. So why was he letting him go?

That was exactly it. The story didn't match up. They knew he was lying, which meant he was either a traitor or insane. Either way, until their questions were answered, they had to keep him alive. _This isn't good,_ Kankuro thought, following one Anbu soldier down the hall (and feeling a second man close behind him). He thought about what to do. He had to figure out what was going on. This was complicated, nothing made sense anymore. How did he get here? If this really was Suna of the past, what did it mean? What kind of jutsu, poison, ANYTHING could do something like this? And what brother was a medic anyways? His father didn't have a. . . Brother in law. That was it. Uncle Yashamaru.

.

.

.

Kankuro was left in the small medical room as Uncle Yashamaru stepped out with the Anbu officers. The room was clean, and smelt of that familiar smell of a hospital that Kankuro absolutely hated. He could hear the crunch of tiny bits of sand under his feet as he walked towards the window.

Yashamaru came back inside, shutting the door behind himself. Kankuro knew that at least one of the guards would be stationed right outside the door, probably more then one.

Yashamaru smiled kindly as he walked back into the room. His sandy blond hair framed a young and open face. He was only a few years older then Kankuro, not even making it past the age of thirty before Gaara. . . Kankuro shook his head. Gaara had never told them if he had really killed their uncle or not; he talked nothing of the past before the chunin exams. As a child they had been told that Gaara had murdered him. But all that had been rumors, and they didn't bring it up to Gaara, never had. Now, here he was before him, their uncle in the flesh.

"Please sit down." Yashamaru said, gesturing to the examination table. "And I will need you to take off your shirt, looks pretty bad there."

Kaknuro obediently sat, "It's nothing," he said - though he wondered why the poison hadn't taken effect yet. Then again. . . Maybe it had, maybe this was all some dream or illusion. He cringed and cursed at the pain when his uncle touched his injured side. It hurt more then any dream had right to.

"A narrow scrape this," Yashamaru said, "Looks like there was poison on the blade that cut you. It will have to be removed.

"Ya," Kankuro gasped, starring down at the blond head.

Yashamaru looked at him closely. "Take off the hood, your face got scratched. We'll have to get that paint off as well. We can't take any chances, even the mildest wound could be deadly if left untended."

He turned as Kankuro began taking off his head gear.

"Gaara? Come here please, and bring a bowl of warm water." Yashamaru called.

Kankuro froze, staring at the doorway leading to the other room. He heard a chair scrape, then the sound of water as a tap was turned on. After that, small pair of footsteps sounded in the hallway as a short redhead walked into the room carrying a bowl of water and a cloth. He and Kankuro looked at each other. Oddly, the first thought in Kankuro's mind was one, of almost amusement, then confusion. He didn't honestly remember much about the child Gaara, just the killing machine teenager, and even that was mostly forgotten to Kankuro, as he knew his brother was the best Kazekage that Suna ever had. This was a child, and the one thing that hit Kankuro most, was that he didn't yet have the kanji for love scarred into his forehead.

"Set it on the table there." Yashamaru instructed.

Gaara nodded, and walked slowly to Kankuro, watching him with careful, dark rimmed eyes. He lifted his hands, stretching on his toes to reach the table. Before the water could spill, Kankuro took the bowl and set it on the table for him. Gaara stepped back, looking at him in shock.

"What?" Kankuro asked, looking down at the kid.

Gaara opened his mouth, but before he could speak Yashamaru walked over and added some medicine into the water, stirring it with his finger tips. "Thank you Gaara."

Gaara nodded, then stepped back and watched as Yashamaru took the cloth and carefully began to wash off the blood on Kankuro's side. Kankuro looked around the room carefully. Then, assuming that they were the only three there, he spoke. "What's you're name?" He asked Gaara, unsure of what he meant by the question, but asking nonetheless.

Gaara's eyes brightened in surprise, which quickly turned into a sort of fear and apprehension. ". . .Gaara." he said quietly. Kankuro could sense Yashamaru listening, though the man pretended not to as he tied a bandage across Kankuro's chest, then moved to the work of cleaning the paint from Kankuro's face with a new cloth.

"Gaara. I'm Kankuro." He honestly wasn't sure how to talk to kids, kids annoyed him like crazy. They were generally cruel, spoiled, and annoying, but . . . He was curious.

"My brother's name is Kankuro," Gaara said quietly.

"Oh?" Kankuro cringed as Yashamaru hit a tender spot near his ear. "That's. . . cool."

Gaara shrugged, then nodded. He watched Kankuro grit his teeth as Yashamaru touched a large cut near his cheekbone.

"Just hold still." their uncle said, setting the cloth down and walking out of the room to get some more supplies. Kankuro took a breath, then stared down at Gaara, who stared back up at him, much closer to Kankuro then he had been just moments before. (Another annoying thing about kids.)

"What?" Kankuro asked.

"Nothing." Gaara said shyly, backing down.

"You help Uncle Yashamaur out here a lot?" Kankuro asked.

Gaara nodded, "I like to try and help people." he looked at Kankuro seriously.. "What happened?" he asked, small voice somber, A lighter tone to it, but familiar all the same.

"I got in a fight with. . . " Kankuro's voice died off. _That jerk took Gaara away! Sasori. . . That monster with the clay. . . Gaara. . ._ "They took my brother away." he said flatly.

"Does. . . it hurt?" Gaara asked curiously, staring at the bandages.

Kankuro stared down at the red mop of hair. "Ya, it hurts a lot," He said. "it hurts like. . . /"

"Move please." Yashamaru said, gently scooting the boy aside with his leg and setting a box of supplies down on the table, pulling out a needle. "I need a blood sample to check the poison content." Kankuro sighed, letting the man adjust the bandage on the wound, With a sharp tingling prick the needle was out before he hardly had time to realize it had been there.

.

.

.

"Alright. You're done." Yashamaru said, "But I will have to keep an eye on you, tell me if you start feeling the poison's effects."

"Alright"

"Good." The medic took his supplies and carried them to the other room to dispose them safely. "Don't touch the needles Gaara," he reminded.

"But they don't poke me," Gaara said, reaching toward the table to help his uncle clean up.

"Don't. You'll get sick." Kankuro said, reaching out a hand to slap Gaara's pale fingers away. A swirl of sand leapt up like a narrow hand, latching onto his arm. Kankuro gasped and pulled back quickly. Gaara too backed up with such sudden force that he fell over. The sand fell back on top of him like a thin blanket.

"Gaara don't!" Yashamaru cried, coming in and standing between them, even though the danger was over.

"I. . .I. . " Gaara looked at his uncle then Kankuro, teal green eyes frightened.

Kankuro buried his wrist behind him. "It's alright. . . He didn't mean it. My bad." he said, rubbing the thin traces of blood off on the fabric of his trousers so no one would see.

Yashamaru started in surprise, but no one seemed as relived as Gaara. Kankuro couldn't help but stare at his little brother; so much expression on his face, relief, happiness, trust. . . Kankuro looked at Gaara, then Yashamaru, than his gaze fell towards the window sill, the thin traces of sand and smudged child fingerprints on the glass. _Gaara wouldn't purposely kill anyone. . . Not at this point. . . So what happened? _He knew from experience, a puppet was limp until something was changed, a string was pulled, _What changed? _His eyes trailed upwards from the smudges, to the high, distant roof of the building where the Kazekage worked. _What strings did you pull father?_

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_Next chapter: Chapter two -_**Child Of Darkness**


	2. Chapter 2: Child of Darkness

Disclaimer: "Naruto" is owned by Masshi Kishimoto

Author Notes:_ Here is chapter two, as promised. The edits on this were a little difficult for me, and it's a little slower chapter then all the other ones. But, hopefully it still proves enjoyable._

_Once again, Thank you Starraz for your help. And thanks to all the people who took time to review and put me on story alert. Much appreciated. I look forward to hearing what you think of this chapter as well. Don't be afraid to be honest :)  
_

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**~Path of Sand ~**

**A Kankuro story**

**Chapter Two: Child of Darkness **

Kankuro spent the night at his uncle's house. Yashamaru said he wanted to keep an eye on his health. Kankuro knew that in reality, his every move was being watched. His father didn't trust him, that was to be expected.

Now, in the darkness of his uncle's small guest bedroom, he had a little bit of time to think things through and make a plan. It was difficult. Of the three siblings Temari was the strategist. She'd give them the plans and Gaara would listen, mentally turning the plan in his head, searching for errors. Kankuro? He just joyed in the battle, of fighting for his village. On the spot decisions and precision? Yes, But what was the point of making long terms plans if every second in a fight altered the outcome?

Now he was on his own. He needed to decide what to do next, and to do that, he needed to decide what exactly had happened in the first place.

He'd fought Sasori, and lost. All of Kankuro's puppet attacks were old news to the legendary puppeteer, child's play compared to his mind-blowing command of the art. Somehow. . . Instead of dying from Sasori's poison, Kankuro was sent back into the past. He didn't bother trying to deal with the unanswerable question; 'how'. It was simply a fact; but it was all but impossible wasn't it?

He didn't feel like he was trapped in any jutsu. On the other hand, he didn't feel particularly good either. If he concentrated hard enough he could feel his body fighting the strange poisonous substance that caused the wounded areas on his body to tingle slightly and feel uncomfortable. Yet it was a feeling that could easily be shoved aside and ignored.

He realized now how stupid it had been to try and go after two Akatsuki alone. That didn't mean he would have changed his decision to do so, it just meant it was a stupid idea. However, he hadn't had much choice in the matter.

He could still recall the guards on the tower walls, arguing with him rather they should shoot the missing nin, or their own Kazekage. Gaara would have been far gone by the time those idiots did something about it. As it was . . . Kankuro had no clue where he might be by now. The situation was looking bleaker and bleaker by the moment.

Unfortunately, it was far too late for regrets. No matter how much he wanted to change things, do something differently, give Gaara a better chance and stop that freaking clay jerk. . . But. . . What was done was done. . .

. . . Or. . . Was it?

Kankuro wasn't one to give much pull to deity or fate, but somehow, and perhaps for some reason. . . He was here. . .

There were many things he could do now that he was in the past. He had the power and knowledge to change things. A million different thoughts flew through his mind. Some of them small, yet insistent, others large and more pressing. He thought of Suna's sad history and wondered what he could change for the better. Could he warn his father of Orochimaru's betrayal and the attack on Konoha?

He frowned at the thought. Inwardly realizing that wasn't something he dared play with. If their father hadn't been killed, then Gaara would have never become Kazekage. Kankuro and his siblings would be nothing but weapons for the rest of their lives, and Gaara would forever remain. . .

Gaara's situation. . . might be worth changing.

Not that their relationship was bad at the moment. Indeed, it had gotten infinitely better since the chunin exams three years ago. Still. . . Kankuro had watched his brother everyday since then, and there was always pain there that wouldn't go away. The people accepted him as their Kazekage but, as shown by the shinobi on the wall, they still didn't completely trust him. The past was simply too hurtful to fully erase. If he could. . . Kankuro would have liked to stop whatever it was that had destroyed Gaara. But what had it been? Where had it started?

Kankuro's thoughts were interrupted by a quiet sound. He shut his eyes so as to listen better. He could hear it clearly now, footsteps. They were small, close together, and oddly familiar. It seemed that young Gaara couldn't sleep.

Those even quiet steps, the pacing. It was a common sound at home, though since becoming Kazkeage Gaara was often in his office at night now. Still. . . It seemed so much like his brother.

Everything else was so different. The way six year old Gaara smile, the little lights of joy that showed in his eyes when someone took kind notice to him. Even Kazekage Gaara had never found those things again; reserved and always somber.

Kankuro gritted his teeth.

The one time Gaara had smiled, a real heartfelt smile, was that evening on the balcony overlooking the village. There, Gaara had told his brother that he wanted to be trusted, wanted to prove himself to the people of Suna, to become dear to them. But now. . . In the future. He was gone. He would never have that chance.

.

.

.

Kankuro gasped, sitting up quickly in the darkness, breathing hard. He slid out of bed, holding his bandaged side. The images of his nightmare slowly faded, but left him with a feeling of fear and hollowness. It took him a while to sort out where he was and what had happened for real.

He was still in Yashamaru's house, he wasn't back home and Gaara wasn't dead. . .Not yet. _Just a dream_. Kankuro told himself, trying to shake the image of Gaara's broken face from his mind. _They'll look for him. Temari will see to that_. Surely this wasn't a genjutsu. You couldn't have nightmares within a nightmare right?

Slowly he walked across the dark floor and towards the kitchen. He didn't know the layout of his uncle's house well, having only stayed there a few times during his childhood.

Once in the kitchen he turned on the tap, searching for a cup in the darkness. He swore quietly as some of the items fell from the cupboard.

The light suddenly flipped on, making Kankuro turn sharply. "What. . ."

Gaara was standing in the doorway, watching Kankuro cautiously. He must have used his sand to reach the light switch because, for a short six year old, it was much too high to reach.

"I was getting a drink." Kankuro explained. "Do you know where the cups are?"

Gaara nodded, pointing.

Kankuro took a cup, turning back to the sink. "You thirsty?"

"No." Gaara replied, coming into the kitchen and climbing onto one of the tall stools near the counter.

"Is uncle Yashamaru asleep?" Kankuro asked, turning and leaning against the sink with his cup.

Gaara nodded slowly.

"I hope we didn't wake him up."

"You didn't," Gaara said.

Kankuro stared at him from over the rim of his cup. Taking in his little brother's tired looking face. Gaara was holding a worn, brown teddy bear under his arm. Something that might have been amusing to Kankuro had not the edges of his nightmare still been present in the back of his mind. He desperately needed something to distract himself.

"Where did the teddy come from?"

Gaara held it closer "My brother and sister gave him to me."

Kankuro frowned, he was trying to remember such an event.

"O-kay . .Hey, does it help you sleep?"

"I can't sleep" Gaara replied. "Otherwise the monster will get me. So I stay awake."

Kankuro frowned. He wasn't sure exactly why he felt compelled to ask his brother such stupid questions when he knew the answers to so many of them, granted the teddy bear bit was a surprise. Perhaps he asked simply because he had no other way to start. Or perhaps. . . Since Gaara was willing to talk at such a young age, he figured he could get answers to those questions he'd never been able to figure out.

"Yashamaru. . . He takes care of you right?"

Gaara nodded. "And I help him when he needs it," he looked down, "He helps keep the monster away too."

Kankuro frowned slightly. He couldn't believe that this little kid would kill their uncle. Something wasn't right. How did this trusting kid ever become the Gaara he grew up with?

"Hey, listen a sec okay?" Kankuro said, causing Gaara to look up.

"You know, I really like ya. You're a really nice kid to talk to. You shouldn't be so scared when talking to people. You just have to be nice to them and keep the sand from going crazy okay? Don't let things get to you and randomly attack people as you get older okay? I know you can do it. It takes a lot of control and stuff, but you can manage. Right?"

Gaara frowned at him in confusion, finally just shrugging in response. Kankuro sighed, hoping his words could reach the little kid's head. He put his cup in the sink, turning back to Gaara. "Want to come sit with me for a while? I don't really feel like sleeping."

Gaara's eyes brightened and he nodded, climbing off the chair and following Kankuro back into the bedroom where they both sat on the bed. Gaara sat cross legged at the foot and faced Kankuro who sat by the pillow.

"You can't sleep either?" Gaara asked, not quite as hesitant to talk as he had been earlier. He almost seemed excited at the idea that Kankuro couldn't sleep either.

"No. Bad dreams." Kankuro explained.

Gaara's eyes widened. "I have nightmares too. They're scary."

"I thought you didn't sleep."

"I don't have to sleep, they just come." Gaara said, rocking back and forth, holding his bare toes as he did so. He looked out the window where a sliver of moon was showing, the rest covered by dark clouds. "But not tonight." he said, turning back to Kankuro. "What did you dream?"

"W-well. . ." Kankuro stuttered, unused to such an inquisitive version of his little brother. "Some guys attacked my village and took someone important to me away," He finally said, not unaware of the irony of telling Gaara this.

Gaara frowned at him, looking somber. "Oh." he looked down at his feet, absently flexing his toes. "I see. That would be like someone hurting Yashamaru and I see it. I would be very sad."

"Ya?"

Gaara nodded.

Kankuro shook his head, he felt more confused then ever. He was getting a headache, "You wouldn't hurt him right Gaara?"

The child looked up, wide eyed and frightened. "Sometimes I do by accident because he gets in the way of my sand."

Kankuro nodded. He remembered Gaara's sand had attacked him as a child more then once. . . Heck, it had attacked him as a teenager multiple times too.

Was that what happened? Gaara lost control of his sand and killed Yashamaru? If his calculations were correct, that was to happen reasonably soon; within the next couple of days even. Though. . . He could be wrong. Kankuro recollection of the event was iffy, he just remembered a lot of crap happening all at once. Yet, Gaara had seemed pretty well controlled during the incident at the clinic. when Kankuro had backed away after foolishly trying to hit Gaara's hand, the sand had pulled back as Gaara did. He hadn't _wanted_ to hurt anyone. The sand, as always, just reacted on it's own.

Kankuro knew that the sand protected Gaara of it's own will, taking very little chakra from Gaara himself, and attacking potential threats. Normally when Kankuro saw this, someone was truly trying to threaten his brother's existence. If in realty, the sand reacted to every simple touch. . . It was no wonder everyone was so afraid of him. Why as a child, Kankuro had been so frightened of his younger brother. If no one could even get close. . . protect him. Of course he came to depend on his sand instead.

Gaara was staring at him, frowning as if trying to read his thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked, trying to dispel the disturbing thought.

"You're looking at me funny." Gaara said.

Kankuro laughed, cutting it off quickly so as not to wake anyone up, or make Gaara angry.

_Make Gaara Angry. . ._

Almost like a dream he could see his twelve year old brother, closing a blood covered umbrella. _"I didn't like the way he was looking at me. So I killed him." _

It wasn't funny, he shouldn't laugh. Gaara really had killed many people for no valid reason; on a whim, out of bloodlust or annoyance. This was different though, It was a younger Gaara, innocent and never wanting to hurt anyone on purpose.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked, sounding horribly concerned and cringing away like he might have done something wrong.

Kankuro looked at him. In all honesty, the little brat saying some of Gaara's old lines (but without the killing intent) was actually. . . Kind of cute.

"I'm sorry" Kankuro said, smiling. "It's just. . . Despite what I always thought, you're kind of cute as a kid."

Gaara's mouth opened in confusion.

"I guess that's just what happens when you finally grow up." Kankuro said quietly. He reached out and gave Gaara a short hug, feeling slightly awkward. He let go quickly.

Feeling tiny grits of sand on his night shirt, he brushed them away with his hands. "Gee Gaara, I feel sorry for whoever has to clean up this mess of yours."

Gaara frowned. A very deep frown. Kankuro froze. He was about to ask what the matter was - Besides the fact that he just hugged his brother for the very first time in either of their lives - then he felt the sand shift around him. Kankuro watched as the tiny grains of sand pulled away from his clothing. Gaara bit down on his lip, body tensing in concentration as each grain fell onto his skin one by one, disappearing there.

The kid didn't even blink until every last bit of desert was off Kankuro. When all the sand was gone, Gaara shut his eyes for a moment, finally taking a breath. He looked at Kankuro and smiled, breathing hard.

"It was that difficult?" Kankuro asked quietly, not masking his surprise.

Gaara's smile widened, "That's the first time I ever tried!"

Kankuro stared. He knew Gaara had put himself through much willpower and training to be able to force the sand to his will, to control it himself, with his own chakra rather then using the power of the demon. Not that Gaara had ever said anything about the difficulty of the task; but Kankuto had seen it on his brother's face, just as he had now. The turmoil and mental exaction to bring the sand into his complete control while, at the same time, constantly arguing with a monster.

Kankuro shut his eyes, remembering Gaara, standing on a floating disk of sand, pulling the substance from the very streets, every grain obeying to exactness. Creating a huge shield that protected the entire village from the explosion, not a grain of it falling onto Suna's head. The hundred of lives protected by the will of their Kazekage. . . Then the tragic fall. . .

Kankuro felt Gaara's finger on his face, and his eyes opened as Gaara pulled away. There was a damp, almost muddy spot on his fingertip. Kankuro wiped his eyes quickly. "Just in case I can't fix all this Gaara. In case it all still happens. . . I'll be there for ya. Okay?"

Gaara frowned at him He wiped his hand off on his trousers, averting his eyes. "But you don't even know me."

"No, I guess I don't. I never did. But that doesn't matter now."

"You mean. . . You're not afraid of me?"

"No. I used to be, a long time ago. But I'm not afraid of you anymore. I trust you. A lot. Someday everyone will."

Gaara stared at him for a moment, then abruptly jumped from the bed. "Okay." he said simply.

"Okay?" Kankuro whispered, watching Gaara walk to the door

The kid turned. "Ya, I said okay. Yashamaru says you're probably crazy. But it's okay if you are. I like you anyways." Then he spun on his heels and left.

Kankuro stared, then lay back on his bed with a growl. Kids. He really hated kids.

* * *

_Next chapter: Chapter 3 – _**Demon of Sand**

_P.S. In case anyone is curious about my reference to Gaara's teddy bear; I have a short story depicting the event. It was written before this story was even thought of, so some of the details and timing doesn't match. All in all though, I think it turned out pretty well. So if you're in the mood for a sad/sweet/tragic sort of story, you can find 'I Want a Brother' on my stories list.  
_


	3. Chapter 3: Demon of Sand

_Disclaimer: "Naruto" is owned by Masshi Kishimoto_

_Author notes: Sorry it's late, but I told several of you Sunday, so I'm posting this on Sunday, even though posting off the weekend isn't a good time, cause most people are too busy too leave feedback._

_Personally, this is my favorite chapter of the five. I felt pretty good about the grammar on this chapter too, but that could just be because I'm tired. _

_Hopefully you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It has some of the first scenes that gave me the idea for this story. It's nice to finally get it on paper and out to you. Enjoy._

* * *

**~Path of Sand: A Kankuro story~**

**Chapter Three: Demon of Sand**

Kankuro grinned. _I lost them,_ he thought, scanning the area for any sign of his Anbu watch dogs. They were nowhere to be found; which was funny, considering Kankuro was sitting ontop of a roof in plain sight.

Down on the street, and not far from him, some noisy kids were playing a game. He should have been easy to find really, but that fact only made the situation more amusing. With a few well placed jutsu he'd finally earned a few moments of peace from ANBU's watchful eye. Now Kankuro just had to decide on his next move.

He'd track down his younger self and Temari, and warn them not to let Gaara out of their sight. Then he'd keep an eye on his brother for as long as he could. He knew he couldn't follow the kid around twenty-four seven, at least not until he could convince the Kazekage that he wasn't a traitor to Suna. Maybe he could even talk some sense into his dad.

_Ha! Ya right_.

Kankuro stared up at the sky with a frown. His injuries hurt, they hurt like crazy really. The pain had grown during the night to such a point that it was hard to sleep, even without the nightmares. Yet, somehow he was still functional.

He shut his eyes to block the sun, feeling the warmth on his face.

_THUNK!_

Kankuro sprang up, swearing as he did so. An old, brown soccer ball fell at his feet rolling a few inches, then stopping. Kankuro rubbed his head. _Darn, I forgot how hard those things are._ He moved to kick it, hopefully so far away that the brats wouldn't ever find it again. Just as he raised his foot, a snake like stream of sand curled around the ball. It created a sort of dish and pulled it away; carrying it slowly down from the rooftop. Kankuro started in surprise, then carefully walked to the edge of the roof and gazed over the short rail.

The soccer ball hovered for a moment, then fell promptly into the hands of the redheaded six year old. The sand dispersed and fell away until nothing moved. Kankuro smiled. Gaara had said last night that he didn't often try to control the sand, said that it was hard for him. However, that move had been executed perfectly as he brought the ball right into his hands. Maybe last night really had managed to change a few things. Kankuro knelt to watch, crossing his fingers and holding his breath.

For a long time Gaara just held the ball; then he took a few tiny steps forward and held it out to the other children. "Here," he said quietly, "you almost lost it." The kids stared. None of them moved an inch. Then someone in the back screamed, and like a ripple in a pool they scattered, running away as fast as they could and crying for their lives.

"Stay away from us!" a girl yelled. The ball fell from Gaara's hands as he stretched out his fingers, desperately begging them to stay, "Wait I. . . Come back!"

Kankuro gasped as a long stream of sand like claws crawled forward, wrapping itself around the other children's ankles, dragging them back. It continued despite their cries.

"Darn it!" Kankuro jumped from the wall, feeling the hot pricks as sand swirled. "Gaara stop!" His brother didn't seem to hear him. Panic rose in Kankuro's chest. Without thinking, he grabbed Gaara by the shoulder, pushing him back, "Don't!" Sand flared as Kankuro raised his arms to shield his face.

"Gaara STOP!" Their uncle's voice rang in the wind like shattering glass.

Almost immediately the sand fell and settled, Kankuro lowered his bleeding arms. Staring at Gaara who looked pale and glassy eyed. Kankuro took several breaths in efforts to calm himself , then forced the breath into speech. "Gaara, you can't. . ." He started.

"You can't do this Gaara." Yashamaru said.

Kankuro turned. The blond shinnobi stood in front of the other kids, sand swirling at his feet and a huge bloodied gash across his arm, dripping blood on the sandy ground.

Gaara stood, stumbling away from where he and Kankuro had fallen. He stared in horror at the blood around him. It was clear he knew where it came from, despite the fact he did not comprehend it. "Yashamaru . . " he stared at his uncle, then turned to Kankuro. "I. . .I. . ." He looked back at Yashamaru, then looked down. The sand swirled around his sandals, scratching together like a cackling laugh. Y

Yashamaru lowered his arms, gasping. He was like a wall; the only protection between the kids and Gaara. His face showed pain; but rather it was from the injuries, or the current event Kaknuro couldn't tell. The man looked at Gaara sadly, then turned and helped the injured girl to her feet, "Come help your friend."

Gaara took a step forward, then froze as the remaining handful of kids moved forward as well, realizing that his uncle hadn't been talking to him. Gaara stepped back, turned, and walked away from them; his shoulders slouched and head bowed. He barely glanced at Kankuro as he passed and turned down the street. A random couple, who had come too see what the commotion was, stepped off to the side to avoid him.

"Gaara wait," Kankuro quickly caught up to him. "I didn't mean to grab you. You okay?"

Gaara nodded, but it was like he didn't completely hear.

_Crap this isn't good_. Kankuro thought, recognizing a familiar look; those dark eyes, the way Gaara's gaze would lower as if he wasn't seeing anything, and his mouth would twitch. That normally meant that Shukaku was doing the works on him.

"Gaara listen to me." Kankuro went to grab his shoulder, but pulled away when he felt sand. He hadn't realized till now how used he had become to interacting with his brother; how often, in his own time, he'd give Gaara a light poke in the arm to get his attention, or set a hand on his shoulder after Gaara had a particularly viscous spat with the counsel. . . Or a long night fighting Shukaku. It had become natural, to the both of them, but this Gaara. . . Kankuro couldn't touch him.

"I was just trying to play." Gaara said quietly.

"I know," Kankuro replied, "I saw. They run all the time don't they."

Gaara nodded.

Kankuro let out a breath, "It'll be fine," he said, feeling the lie in his voice and hoping that Gaara didn't. "Just keep controlling the sand, like you did to get the ball, or like you did last night." His mind searched for something more to say. "Gaara, You can use your sand to protect people. Not hurt them. You don't have to destroy everything you see. I know you don't mean to but. . . " He frowned, trying to remember what Gaara had said to him, something he hadn't said yet, but someday would. ". . . You feel this sadness so that you can understand others. Eventually they will respect you for it. You find people you care about and then protect them," He stumbled for the words, "Just. . . keep trying."

The child Gaara standing before him listened, his eyes seemed to focus a little more, but Kankuro wasn't sure if he really understood.

"I just wanted to play," Gaara repeated quietly.

"I know," Kankuro said, feeling deep disappointment. He hadn't understood after all. Gaara was just to young to understand.

"You said if I wasn't scared and I was friendly enough they would like me."

"That's not what I said," Kankuro replied quickly, gut seeing the shattered look on the kids face he realized that, even if that hadn't been the exact words, that _had _been what he'd meant. He'd been foolish enough to think a simple personality change in Gaara would be enough to get rid of the deep fear everyone held for someone so potentially dangerous. When it came down to it, no one really understood Gaara, everyone was too busy and too frightened to notice how they were tearing him apart.

"Wait! I have an idea! Come on." Kankuro held out a hand, letting Gaara come to him, and smiling when the sand didn't react negatively as Gaara shyly slid his small fingers into his.

"I'll find someone for you to play with, he's just as lonely as you are really; just to proud to tell anyone. Come on!"

.

.

.

"Where are we going? I'm not supposed to be here," Gaara said, warily looking around at the academy buildings. He was barely able to keep up with Kankuro's fast pace.

"We're just walking past," Kankuro said, searching the crowd of faces and flashing Gaara a reassuring smile, "just keep coming."

He took a right turn, pausing for a moment to get his bearings then turning towards the old training fields. The buildings began to get older, and the cement path more faded and dusty. Finally, Kankuro climbed through an old piece of fence that had been cut away forever ago. He seemed to remember the hole being a lot larger. He turned to help Gaara through, carefully avoiding the barbed wire.

Pausing to catch his breath, the puppeteer stood, looking around. "Kankuro?" He called, then smiled. It wasn't very often he got the opportunity to be calling himself. Musing at the thought, he realized he was almost acting as crazy as Gaara.

_Runs in the family I suppose._

"Kankuro?"

Gaara let out a surprised gasp as Kankuro got hit in the head with a ball for the second time that day. Spinning, Kankuro turned to face the direction of the attack, growling as he did so. "Why you little. . . /"

He was looking at. . . Himself.

"Sorry," the younger brown haired kid mumbled,

Kankuro raised an eyebrow, straitening his hood. His smile widened. "Hey you," he greeted.

The younger version of himself stared in surprise, looking at Kankuro, then at Gaara and backing up. "What did I do?" He asked nerviously.

Kankuro grinned, picking up the ball, and spinning it on his fingers. "Well, besides stealing the soccer ball, nothing."

Young Kankuro started, "I didn't. . ./"

"Ya, whatever," Kankuro said, setting the ball under his arm. "Stealing things and being on forbidden grounds could get you in trouble. But I don't think I'm going to tell on you."

Young Kankuro stared at him in relief.

"I know for a fact no one will find you here," Kankuro continued, " Well. . .No one but me." He smirked, but quickly remembered his original intention for coming here. "I need you to do me a favor. I need you to play with Gaara for a bit."

Gaara stood stock still. And the younger version of Kankuro stared. He took a step back. "I'm not allowed to play with Gaara," he said, sounding like a brat. Kankuro took a deep breath, smiling pleasantly. "I know that's what they say, but he's your brother; and brothers stick together." He tossed the ball to the young kid, then pushed Gaara forward with a hand. "He's not going to hurt you or anything. Besides, you can't play ball with yourself now can you?"

"Yes I can," Little Kankuro said. He kicked the ball across the ground; then held out a hand. Blue chakra strings appeared at his fingertips. A small, poorly made puppet sat up from it's position by the scraggly bushes, and kicked the ball back to them.

Kankuro frowned at his younger self. With a smirk, he raised his hand, stole the puppet from the weak chakra strings of his childhood self and sent the puppet crashing towards the nearest rock.

"Hey!" Child Kankuro glared, "You. . . /"

Kankuro folded his arms, glaring. "Look you little brat. Everyday you come here after school '_practicing'_ " He said the word sarcastically, "What you're really doing is sitting here feeling sorry for yourself and wishing you had someone to call a real friend. Someone who won't stab you in the back to get what they want, or run from you because your dad's a monster. Well I brought you a friend. And darn it all! You're gonna play with him _or else_!"

Little Kankuro backed up another step, looking at Gaara, then Kankuro, then back. "No! Get away from me!" He yelled, spinning and taking off.

Kankuro could feel Gaara tremble behind him. Setting his mouth in a grim, hard line, he raised a hand, sending his chakra strings forward and pulling the kid back, walking till they met in the middle and he could grab the boy by the black linen shirt.

"What's your problem uh?"he demanded furiously, "you little idiot! He's your brother isn't he?!"

"N-n-n!" Little Kankuro stuttered. Kankuro lifted him off his feet by his shirt bunched in one fist. "Well! He IS your brother! He's just trying to be nice! He needs someone to play with, and so do you! Don't you get tired of being lonely?!" Well, he's lonely TOO DARN IT!"

The kid was actually trembling, "But Dad said. . ./"

"I don't care what Dad said! You're being a jerk. You could at least say hi once in a while! But no! You always ignore him! Pretending you're not even related! And because of that he never had anyone! What kind of big brother are. . . you. . ."

Kankuro found himself staring eye to eye with himself. The words rang like warning bells in his head; what he just said, _'because of you he had no one. . ._ '

Yes, Kankuro had always been afraid of the wrath of his father, but other then blatant warnings to leave their younger brother alone, he and Temari had multiple chance to be with Gaara while growing up. Their father never payed them much attention, and Yashamaru wouldn't have stopped the interaction if they had only tried. He might have even encouraged it.

But no, They had always been too afraid, Kankuro himself had been like a puppet; those who were older and stronger always pulling the strings, too afraid to act for himself, fearing that if he tried to befriend Gaara he'd get in trouble, or become an outcast too. Yet what had come from it? Nothing good. He had merely become another tool for the whims of his father, and those twelve long years. . . Of absolutely nothing.

With am angry growl his grip on the black collar tightened, causing his younger self to gulp and gasp for breath. He was hardly aware of what he was doing until a wave of sand crashed against him, sending both versions of himself flying backwards and away from each other.. Kankuro landed with a clunk and stood quickly, spinning.

Gaara stood, hand raised, as he stared at him. "You're hurting my brother." he said, then turned to the child Kankuro. Once again, Gaara picked up the ball. He walked towards him, holding it out. "It's alright," he said comfortingly to the older child. He stopped when young Kankuro tried to struggle. He had landed quite hard against a large stone and was clutching his arm as if in pain. Gaara stopped and set the ball on the ground, nudging it forward. The two young boys stared at each other silently,

"Thank y– " Then young Kankuro's gaze drifted past Gaara, then flashed back, "NO! Just keep it! Get away from me!" He stood and ran away.

Kankuro swore as he watched himself run. That was all he ever did. Run. This time, Gaara didn't even try to bring his would be friend back; but turned with a look of deep sadness on his face. It quickly changed to shock and fear. Kankuro turned also, frowning as his two Black Op watch dogs, both standing by the fence.

"You need to come with us," one said. Kankuro gritted his teeth. _This is bad, very bad._

.

.

.

"What were you doing with them." The Kazekage demanded.

Kankuro's heart was in his mouth. "I. . ." Kankuro started. He looked around the room There was nothing he could say.

"I already know you lied to us before. Don't think you can lie to me again young man," the Kazekage said, "I would strongly recommend telling us the truth this time."

The Anbu behind him didn't have to move an inch for Kankuro to know that they would kill him right there and then; then wipe the blood from the floor before the next council meeting.

"Yashamaru asked me to keep an eye on Gaara," Kankuro blurted, biting down on his teeth, knowing that he could very well get his uncle killed now too. "I mean. . . he said he had a meeting or something, asked me to follow the kid around town and make sure he kept out of trouble, the brat likes to push people around."

He just kept going, just kept digging his own grave. With hardly a sign, the nearest Anbu moved forward threateningly.

The door suddenly opened, and Yashamaru ran in. "Lord Sama I Th. . . " He froze, lowering his head. "Forgive me," he begged

The Kazekage glared darkly. "What is so important Yashamaru? And don't let your tongue slide. Be aware of who is in the room currently."

Yashamaru looked at the Anbu soldiers, then at Kankuro. He turned back at the Kazkeage. "I. . . got the results back from my tests on Kankuro-san." He turned slightly to Kankuro. "Most of the poison is out of your blood. You didn't get much in your system. You are still feeling well I presume?"

Kankuro nodded numbly.

"You look slightly pale," Yashamaru said.

_Ya, no kidding_ . Kankuro thought.

The Kazekage, thumped his fist on the desk, "Yashamaru! What are you doing?"

"Um. . . " The medic turned back to his brother-in-law, "I'm sorry sir, I heard that Kankuro was in here with multiple Black Ops, I was afraid you were thinking about integrating him."

_I'm going to die here._ Kankuro thought in panic

"What of it?" The Kazekage demanded.

"It would be unwise," Yashamaru said, "There was no poison in the blood samples I took, but the other tests I ran show an interesting. . . well, It's almost a Jutsu sort of thing. I haven't seen anything like it before."

"So?"

"See, essentially, Kankuro is extremely unstable. I think he knows more then he's saying, but integration would be useless because he doesn't know he knows."

Kankuro stared, "Excuse me?"

"Shut up," the Kazekage demanded, then turned back to the medic nin in front of him. "Are you saying his mind has been messed with?"

"Well, it's more technical then that, but yes."

"Then why is he here?"

"It's hard to tell," Yashamaru said, "It is very possible that he was abandoned by Sasori. A disciple of his or something. After all, We don't know for sure what medicle training the man had, but he was fond of poisons, so it's not far fetched to conclude that he could have developed a jutsu like this. As we know, he has made similar experiments before. I would like to request permission to put Kankuro under my care. I can run a few more tests, perhaps solve this mystery and get the information we need."

The Kazekage frowned deeply. ". . .Very well, are you sure you can handle him along with Gaara?"

"Yes sir."

"He was with Gaara. We found him with Gaara and Kankuro in an old training filed. Is there a reason for that?"

Yashamaru glanced quickly at Kankuro, then back. "That was a misjudgment of mine I'm afraid." he said carefully, "Gaara accidentally attacked some children today. I was taking care of them, and asked Kankuro to leave with Gaara so as to calm them all down and prevent further incident. I was foolish to do so."

"Yes you were. There is no room for misjudgments."

"Forgive me My Lord."

"Fine. Do what you must. But I want a careful watch. If this man isn't with you I want other guards."

""Understood sir. He will be under my constant eye. I think it's best to take this slowly, so as not to damage him mentally anymore then he is already."

"Fine. Get out," the Kazekage said.

Yashamaru made a short bow.

Kankuro's head was spinning in overload, but mostly he just felt relief that he wasn't dead_. . . Damage. . . Mentally. . . Anymore then he already is?! What's going on! _He followed Yashamaru to the door.

"Yashamaru" Kankuro's father called, stopping them at the door. "I still plan on meeting with you this evening. It is of minor importance.

"Yes sir."

They slipped out of the room. Kankuro walking beside his uncle. Yahsamaru didn't look at him.

"Thank you." Kankuro finally said quietly, ". . . But why are you helping me? You didn't tell me to watch Gaara."

"Yes I did."

"No you d– "

Yashamaru stopped, and glared at him, "Yes. I did, " he said forcefully. "Whatever I said in there, I did. Or would you like to go back in that room?"

Kankuro started. He shook his head quickly. His uncle started walking again.

"But. . ." Kankuro caught up to him in a few strides. "Why are you helping me?"

"I'm not helping you." Yashamaru said, then looked at him with a side ways glance.

"Then why. . ./"

"Your blood test."

"Huh?!"

"It's an exact match to my nephew's. Exactly. All your medical data matches without fail." Yashamaru turned, looking Kankuro directly in the eye, "I want to know why."

* * *

_Next chapter: Chapter Four –_** Night of Darkness**

_Important Author note: No promises for when the next chapter will be up. I'm kind of in the middle of moving these next two weeks or so. So the update might not be weekly like I've been trying to do. However, go ahead, review this chapter, and make sure you check your email for updates because chapter four is written and it's only a matter of editing and posting. I'm sure I can manage that at some point between packing my closet full of cloths. _

_So long, till we meet again. :)_


	4. Chapter 4: Night of Darkness

_Disclaimer: "Naruto" is owned by Masshi Kishimoto_

_Sorry for the long wait, but here it is, and I'll try my best to get the last chapter up as soon as I possibly can._

* * *

**~Path of Sand:A Kankuro story~**

**Chapter Four: Night of Darkness**

Kankuro sighed in relief as Yashamaru led him into the upper room of the medical clinic.

The blonde man shut the door and locked it behind Kankuro, turning to him with a grim expression on his face, "It doesn't look like they've followed us. Now get talking."

"Where's Gaara?" Kankuro asked.

"Somewhere safe. Now, who are you?"

Kankuro looked down at his feet, there was a thin tear in his black trousers; he'd managed to get caught on the barbed wire after all. His uncle stood in front of him, arms folded.

"Look," Kankuro started, as calmly as he could, "I know you're going to think I'm insane. But I'm Kankuro. . . Son of the Kazekage, Kankuro. I just. . . Got sent back somehow. I really did fight Sasori though. That's the last thing I really remember."

"Maybe you have amnesia." Yashamaru said bluntly, almost in a taunting manner.

"I mean that's all I remember happening before getting _here_." Kankuro rephrased in annoyance.

"Pull up your sleeve."

The puppeteer did so, glaring as Yashamaru stabbed him with needle.

"Look, it's the truth. You said so yourself." Kankuro rubbed his arm.

"So, your saying you're the future Kankuro."

"Yes."

"You look like him."

"That's because I am." Kankuro growled.

Yashamaru came back with another needle. "I'm not done yet."

"Look!" Kankuro said, standing. "I know what you're probably thinking. But a bunch of tests isn't going to help anything because they will all say the same thing!" He stepped away in efforts to avoid any more stabbing. He used needles and things as weapons, anything of that sort coming close to him tended to make him a little nervous.

Yashamaru sighed, looking at him tiredly. "Look, what you're saying is impossible." he said, putting his hands out as he talked, almost in a helpless gesture "It just can't happen."

"I know. But it's the truth. Just ask me something, let me tell you, I know more then any spy would care to know. I can answer any of your questions."

"Fine." Yashamaru said. He took a step back, "If you are Kankuro, how many children does Lord Kazekage have?"

Kankuro made a slow smirk. It was a good question. General spies would say two, someone with more information would know about Gaara.

Either way he would prove himself a spy; and if he told the truth, a very dangerous one.

"Three," he said, "Temari, myself, and Gaara."

Yashamaru nodded slightly. "Alright. . . how old are you?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "I'm 17, but in this time I'm what. . . Eight or something? My birthday is May 15

Yashamaru nodded. "So. . .Do you know who I am?"

"Ya. You're our uncle. Mom's brother. You take care of Gaara."

Yashamaru looked like he'd already been pulling up the next question to prove Kankuro was a spy, but now he paused. "So, you know a lot about the Kage's family."

"That's because I'm Kankuro! Look. . ." he racked his brain for some more proof, "On My sixth birthday Dad was gone, so you had us all at your place. You told us stories all night long about mom and you. Gaara was there too, it was one of the only times we even slept in the same building. I found you two up at night because Gaara doesn't sleep. . .We sat around the table and ate cookies." He took a breath, such a memory had long been blocked out by the years of training, fighting, and being afraid of his brother. He talked more slowly now. "We were playing that night and Gaara's sand went nuts. It's one of the first times I remember him doing that. After that, we never stayed over night again." He frowned, trying to shake the images away and remember anything that would be impossible for anyone else to know. "I stabbed myself with one of my puppet needles. . . I guess that would be last year or so, when I first started using puppets with weapons. I call Temari 'Mari' as a nickname when dad's not around to hear it. And on my first day of academy we. . . "

"Okay stop!" Yashamaru said. At some point during his nephew's examples he'd sat down in the nearest chair, face slightly pale

Kankuro smirked, "Convinced yet?"

"No spy would know all that."

"I know. That's why I'm telling you. I also recall that you took us to our first day of academy, Temari and I. Temari and I fought the whole time and you actually turned around and started walking the other direction telling us we couldn't go."

Yashamaru's mouth opened, then shut it. Finally he sighed, ". . . Kankuro."

"Yep. Thanks for saving my neck in there. He was gonna kill me."

"Some of the things you said. . ." Yashamaru muttered as if to himself, putting together the pieces, "The way you talked to Gaara. . . /"

"About Gaara," Kankuro interpreted quickly. Revealing childhood memories, now that he was older, he couldn't help but pin point exact scenes, times when Gaara was in his life, but not really. "You need to get Temari and I to accept him better. I don't know what happens for sure. . . " He paused for a second. "In. . . the next couple days or so. . . Rumor has it that Gaara kills you."

Yashamaru frowned, "But Gaara wouldn't. . ./ "

"I know. I don't know what really happens. He never talks about it. All I know is it was around that time when Gaara went completely mad. That cute little kid? He changed. He killed for the fun of it. For no other reason then that he could. It completely destroyed him."

"But Gaara. . . /"

"You have to understand!" Kankuro interpreted again. "After your death no one could control him. No one could do anything. He was so under Shukaku's power that there was hardly any Gaara left."

"I don't understand." Yashamaru whispered. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that whatever happens, don't die. I don't think Gaara did it, but I don't know. Whatever happens. You have to stop it."

Yashamaru was pacing, a lot like Gaara did when making a tough decision. "What else happens?"

"Lots. I don't know where to start."

"But Gaara. . . "

"Spends twelve years of his life as a psychopathic killer that even the Kazekage fears."

Yashamaru stood still. "Twelve years?"

"Yahsamaru-san!" a voice called from the other room "Temari sama got hurt. She needs assistance."

"Coming!" Yashamaru yelled down the hall, the situation triggering the prompt answer, rather then even really hearing what was said. He stared at Kankuro in disbelief.

Kankuro stared back, "She missed dodging one of the blades in training. It hit her left hand. You'll also see a small bruise on her right shoulder." He smiled gingerly, "I pushed her off our balcony yesterday and never told anyone."

"Why did you push her off the balcony?" Yashamaru asked in shock.

"Can't recall. I think she was being bossy or something."

A younger version of Temari's voice pierced through the walls from downstairs, "Don't touch it! I want my uncle. You don't have any medical training!"

"You better hurry," Kankuro said, "Otherwise she takes it out on me."

Yashamaru nodded and left, glancing over his shoulder once more before shutting the door.

Kankuro sat back, breathing out in relief.

Someone else knew.

It was amazing how much better that made him feel. He smiled. Maybe he would even pay bratty Temari a visit, beat her up a little for being such a loud mouthed pain in the neck. Honestly, Gaara was the only non-bratty one out of the three of them. It must have been Yashamaru's doing somehow. He taught Gaara. It was Yashamaru who really cared about him, and whom Gaara listened to and trusted.

So who would kill him for that? Who would make Yashamaru a target, and why?

If Kankuro could just stop Yashamaru from dying, it would fix everything.

Wait. . .

Temari's bandaged hand, The Anbu guards telling them they had to leave the city for the night, an evacuation of the entire center part of Suna. They had spent the night far away, and it was the next day. . . the next day they came back and were told that their uncle was dead. . . That was tonight.

.

.

.

"Here Gaara," Yashamaru said, putting the medicines in the brown paper bag, "I have to go meet with you father, this should be enough though. She lives down the street near the store. Do you need help?"

"No, I can do it." Gaara said, taking the bag carefully..

Kankuro watched Gaara take the brown paper bag. He glanced from the kid's bare forehead, to Yashamaru's bandaged finger, then back. The kid was basically smiling.

"Thank you. Now I understand. The medicine will make her feel better right?" Gaara asked, almost shaking with excitement, or maybe his body just couldn't handle that much smile.

"Yes," Yashamaru assured. "Though, not as much as your apology will. Make sure you say you're sorry."

"Yes uncle. I will."

Yashamaru knelt and curved the edge of the bag over so nothing would fall out, "Alright, but hurry back."

"I will," Gaara turned to leave. He stopped and spun on his heals "Yashamaru?"

"Yes Gaara?"

"You gave medicine to Temari too right?"

"Yes I did."

"Good," Gaara said in relief, "I hope she feels better too." Then he ran out the door. "Good evening!" he greeted the Anbu station outside in the hall. His footsteps faded away.

"Maybe I should go with him," Kankuro said.

Yashamaru stood. "I can't let you. The kazekage is angry as it is. He's had a lot on his mind lately. There's going to be black ops watching your every move. As long as I assure him you're some crazy, we'll be fine."

Kankuro gritted his teeth, "But tonight. . ."

"I know." Yashamaru said

"Do you? The village is going to be evacuated. . . You die tonight!"

Yashamaru frowned, lowering his gaze until his eyes fell on a small picture frame on the side table. He picked up the picture, brushing his finger against the glass. The photo of Kankuro's mother smiled up at him.

"Gaara wouldn't kill me, Kankuro. I'm sure of it. I might die yes, but what if it is to protect him instead? I don't want to miss my chance to serve my village, or my family." He set the picture down and smiled softly at Kankuro. "I'll be back. Stay out of trouble." He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

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.

.

Kankuro walked to the window, slamming his fist on the sill. The sound echoed in the empty clinic.

Everything was happening already and he couldn't do anything about it!

In the light of the full moon, he could see the empty streets below. A prickling sensation crawled across his skin.

_What do I do? I'm useless!_

He turned away, running a hand through his hair. What happened? What went wrong? It wasn't just Yashamaru bothering him now, it was everything. Gaara was practically dying twice at the same time. Why did the Akatsuki take him away? What would Yashamaru do to get himself killed? Maybe uncle Yashamaru was right, maybe someone attacked Gaara and he had to save him. But why?

Why was Gaara's life constantly being threatened by random people?!

Never mind, stupid question. It was because of Shukaku. It was because Gaara was a jinchuuriki and everyone was afraid of those. Didn't people understand that It was Gaara who kept the monster at bay?

That from the time he was born, he fought with it? That he was shunned and hated because of it, learning and being told by it's whispers to only love himself and kill others. . . But no. . . No one ever saw it. No one stayed up the nights when Gaara would hover, even as Kazekage, on the edge of insanity, Shukaku taunting him for everything he was determined to stand for.

Kankuro could feel his head spinning, he felt slightly sick, and his chest hurt. There was too much to think about. Young Gaara now, older Gaara later. . . And he felt helpless to help either of them.

Quickly Kankuro pulled out a sheet of paper from the drawer. Regardless of what happened tonight, Gaara would still be Suna's jinchuuriki, and still be in danger from the Akatsuki. He needed to be warned. Kankuro wrote quickly, gripping the pen tightly. He wrote down everything he knew, everything that would happen, everything he knew about his family and the years to come. He wanted to warn his father that Orichimaru was bad news, that going against Konoha would fail miserably. However, a new plan was beginning to form, and for that he needed to act, now. Knowing his father wouldn't listen anyways, Kankuro turned his attention directly to Gaara.

He gave the date and time of the Akatsuki attack, giving every detail he could remember of the battle. He described what they had found afterward, who they suspected as the traitor. He told Gaara everything he could, everything to warn him.

Finally, he set down the pen and sealed the envelope, setting it under the picture frame.

No, that was no good, if something happened tonight before Kankuro could get to it, then someone else would find it.

He needed a safe spot, someone would find it sure, but someone who had the best chance of keeping it and eventually giving it to Gaara later.

He frowned. Then, took the pen again and labeled the letter carefully: _To Temari, from Uncle __Yashamaru. _

He didn't trust his younger self to keep something like this, he didn't believe Gaara would either, _especially_ if he couldn't stop tonight from happening. But Temari. . . she was old enough and smart enough to be careful.

Kankuro again stuffed the paper under the picture frame, then walked back to the window. It was all he could do for his Kazekage at the moment. Hopefully it was enough. Now, it was time to take some action.

Kankuro dug through the drawers of his uncle's rooms. His training had first started as nothing but puppetry, but as Kankuro had gathered more knowledge and skill, more interest in the art, he had learned a lot about poisons.

Taking what he could find from his uncle's cupboards, he next found a couple syringes with the new mixture. He tilted the filled containers towards the light, studying the thickness and color. It was not deadly, but close. It was something that could knock someone out for several hours. Filling a third syringe, he capped it and stuck it in his pocket for future use. He grabbed the other two, leaving them uncapped.

First putting his ear to the door, then opening it quietly, he quickly found the two Anbu guards near the doorway. They turned.

"Hey guys." Kankuro said smiling.

"You must stay in there," the Anbu said, "No one is allowed on the streets tonight."

"Why?" Kankuro asked, holding his hands in the fold of his black clothing..

"It doesn't matter why. Now. . ."

Kankuro threw the needles, each hitting a vital spot in their intended targets. He managed to hold the limp bodies up with his chakra strings, lowering them to the ground without a sound.

"I hope I don't change anything too terribly important by taking you two out," Kankuro said, dragging them into the room and shutting the door behind him, "But I have some family members to save."

After taking the white cloth that hid the men's faces, and pulling the long sword from the other ops member, Kankuro ran down the hall and out into the night.

Once on the street, Kankuro paused. Where did he need to go? He had to find uncle Yashamaru. Gaara would be fine, the sand protected him by it's self. Yashamaru was only human. He could be attacked and outnumbered. It was only the thing that really stood clear in Kankuro's mind with the meager information he had. Yashamaru died and therefor, so did child Gaara. Regardless if the kid was with him at the time or not, he could have easily gotten blamed for it. Their own father himself was the one who told Temari and Kankuro about it. They had believed him, because they believed that out of all people he would know. Kankuro paused. He would know. Yashamaru had left to see him. Cursing himself for being such an Idiot, Kankuro ran towards the center of the city.

.

.

.

Kankuro snuck into the Kazekage's house. _Where are the guards?_ Using the cloth to cover his face, and trying to take the stance of an elite Anbu soldier, Kankuro walked the halls quietly. He turned the corner, pausing when he heard two voices in the hall. Recognizing them instantly, Kankuro froze, staying in the shadows.

"But Gaara is just a child." Yashamaru said, "Do you really think this is wise? He won't be able to control himself."

"We won't know unless we try," The Kazekage said, "He keeps loosing control, and we will have to find other ways to deal with him. You're the only one who can test his true strength."

"Yes Lord Sama but. . . " Yashamaru paused, "It seems so harsh. . . Mentioning his mother like that"

"That's the life of a shinobi. It is harsh. If you are not enough reason for Gaara to lock away his inner demon, if she isn't enough. . . Then the boy is not only useless to me, but a danger all."

There was a long silence.

"Do you understand my command?" The kazekage asked.

"Yes my lord."

"Good. Go now then."

Kankuro hardly breathed as a single pair of footsteps came towards him. When Yashamaru turned the corner they both looked at each other.

His uncle was dressed in the clothing of an Anbu, assassin's mask hanging down the side of his face.

"Kankuro."

"What are you doing?" Kankuro hissed quietly.

Yashamaru looked at him, his eyes wide as if he wasn't fully aware of what he was saying. "You were right. . . I'm going to die tonight. . . No matter what I do."

"What are you doing?!" Kankuro asked again, louder this time.

"I'm going to test Gaara, lie to him. It's an order from the Kazekage, your father Kankuro. But don't hate him for it. Don't hate me. He believes it's for the best of the village."

"What are you saying?!"

"Whatever happens tonight; take care of Gaara for me." Yashamaru latched the mask across his face until only his eyes could be seen. Before Kankuro could catch him, the man whispered a jutsu and disappeared. Kankuro swore as he ran down the hall. He had to find Gaara.

It was silent, the night seemed darker then ever, despite the full moon. It was also cold, cold and clear. Kankuro stopped in the street. Where was. . . The best thing to do to find Gaara was start where the kid started, then work backwards. Kankuro ran to the clinic. He checked every room in case he'd returned from his self assigned task. No Gaara. So Kankuro took again to the street, running towards the house he had heard Yashamaru give directions too. On his way he stumbled over a group of drunk people, crowded around the body of a man. "What happened?!" he demanded.

"It was that Gaara kid, he killed him, for no reason! The monster!" Kankuro pushed his way through, eyes searching the darkness for any sign of his brother. He came to the house Yashamaru had spoke up. He ran up the steps, tripping over a small brown paper bad. Crouching, he picked it up from the porch, peeking in and noticing that the medicine bottles were still there, though some had been cracked in the fall. Kankuro raised a fist and pounded on the door.

A young brown haired girl poked her head out, staring up in surprise. "Hello?"

Kankuro held out the bag. "Gaara, the kid who gave you this. Where did he go?"

"I don't know and I don't care!" She said, slamming the door shut. Kankuro stared in surprise, then dropped the bag and ran back towards the clinic. Where was Gaara?! He looked upwards to the moon; full, the time of night Shukaku was most wild. Thirteen year old Gaara could barely manage to contain it; what about the six year old? Kankuro only knew one place to find Gaara on nights like this. So he took to the rooftops, bounding from building to building.

He saw Gaara just as he saw Yashamaru. . . Just as he saw the knives.

It happened so quickly. . . The anger In Gaara's face, the claw of sand that latched around Yashamaru's body in an attack that Kankuro knew as the sand coffin. It crushed his uncle, blood dripping from the sandy mess. For a moment, all Kankuro could do was stare. He watched Gaara slowly walk up to the limp form. He heard Gaara whimper. And he was just about to go to him. However, as he got closer, he could hear what was being said, he heard everything.

"Why? Why?!" Gaara cried.

"I guess I always hated you Gaara, you were never loved."

and Yashamaru unfolded the story of Gaara's birth, in the same way that Kankuro had heard it as a youth. But this time, it was told to Gaara, and it was told by the only person in the world, who ever even pretended to care about him.

For a moment, Kankuro just listened, unable to move as his entire body felt stinging hot and cold at the same time. He felt sick. He shut is eyes against the scene. "No, No no!" He murmured. It was a lie! Kankuro remembered so little of his mother, but her love. There was no denying her love. She had been hurt at the thought of giving birth to a demon, but there had always been love! Kankuro's eyes flew open, He had to believe that, though he knew no more about here then Gaara did, perhaps even less. He pulled out the last syringe of poison, intending to silence those lying words, stop the pain in Gaara's eyes. He was going to do what he never had the guts to do before.

Running forward, Kankuro sprang across the roof, just in time to hear Yashamaru's last words to Gaara. "This is it. Now please die." Kankuro barely had time to react as the paper bombs lit, mixing with blood and a shield of sand.

Kankuro felt the chakra rather then actually seeing it. The hot red as Gaara's chakra flared, protecting him against the blast. Things seemed to slow as Kankuro reached for the remaining paper bombs, tearing them away, grabbing Yahsamaru by the arm, raising his fingers into a jutsu just as the bombs went off.

.

.

.

Kankuro laid his uncle on the ground.

Yashamaru gasped, ". . . Kankuro. . . " blood layered the man's mouth, multiple bones in his body were broken He might have been able to survive that if not for the bleeding scar across the man's chest where the bombs had burnt the flesh. Kankuro raised the last syringe of poison. "You lied to him! You full out lied!"

"I know. . . "

Kankuro blinked quickly, refusing to tear his eyes away from the bloodied face, that so resembled that of his mothers. "The way you acted, the way you talked to Gaara. . . I thought. . . I thought. . ./"

"About Gaara." His uncle interpreted, breathing in shaky gulps. "You talked about him before, you said I destroyed him, you said he spent twelve years. . ." He took a shaking gasp of air. "After twelve years. . .what happens to Gaara after twelve years Kankuro. . . does Gaara die?"

"No." Kankuro said quietly "You killed him tonight. But someday the monster dies. He changes. A leaf genin from Konoha reaches him where you and I never tried; taught him about friendship. He. . . Gaara. He's the Kazekage now." Hot anger laced Kankuro's voice. "The best Kazekage Suna has ever had, a better person then father ever was, and a better man then you."

Yashamaru ignored the hate in his nephew's voice. "Good then. . . I'm glad. . . that's the Gaara I know. . . He said quietly, taking yet another labored breath. "You almost give me a reason to keep living Kankuro," He almost smiled "I told you he wouldn't kill me. . .this is my fault." his face faltered, "I want to see Gaara as Kazekage, but. . . I can't live with these injuries. Love hurts too much. Please, defend him when I could not. . .I was too afraid."

Kankuro finally looked away. "You. . . I thought you loved him. . ." he stuttered, feeling his throat tighten.

"Yes I do. Just like my sister did. I love you all."

"Liar."

"I know. This is how it ends. Someday, tell Gaara that I don't hate him. Tell him love is. . . "His voice slowly trailed off.

Yashamaru died. Kankuro had seen many die, somehow this seemed different.

Finally he stood, looking upwards towards the rooftops, where the form of Shukaku was taking shape, where sand swirled, and a child screamed in pain and hate.

Kankuro stared as the sand spun uncontrollably, and Shukaku raised his ugly head.

"Gaara!" Kankuro jumped onto the roof, going much too close. He raised a hand to shield his face, feeling the sand tear into his skin like hot, poisoned needles. He could feel his body weakening as he squinted into the sand. "Gaara? Gaara!" Through the storm he saw the his brother raise his head, thin streams of blood dripping from above his eyes, where a single word was scared into his forehead.

The first real injury Gaara had ever received, both physically, and emotionally; the word for love. Kankuro felt himself falling as sand cut into his body. His mind felt numb, He'd been too slow, hadn't been able to change anything. . He'd failed. . . Again

* * *

_Next chapter: Chapter five (last chapter) - _**Shadow of Memory**


	5. Chapter 5: Shadow of Memory part: 1

_**Author note: **So, this chapter was difficult, as we make a turn back to cannon Shippuden, and I wasn't sure how to write it and not bore you to death with a story we've already heard. _

_However, I finally figured out what to do. Though it might be a little confusing. Just know that this story not only transports Kankuro back to his own time, but shows childhood flashbacks. _

_Tell me what you think about it. I don't want the flashbacks to be annoying, but apparently I'm much better at child Sand sibs compared to Shippuden sibs._

_P.S. As a forewarning. I had to divide this chapter into two parts. I feel guilty for doing that to the last chapter, so I was going to post them both tonight/this morning, however. . .It is now well after midnight. So I'm posting this one now, as promised and will finish the rest in daylight hours. Sorry about that._

* * *

**~Path of Sand ~**

**A Kankuro story**

**Chapter Five: Shadow of Memory (Part 1)**

"_**I have to remove the poison. . ."**_

"_**Kankuro!"**_

"_**Hold him down!" **_

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.

.

_A wound to the heart can't be healed by medicine like this, it can only be given by others to heal you," Yashamaru said. Kankuro was sitting in the chair by the window, looking on as his little brother watched their uncle with wide eyes._

"_How do I get that medicine?!" The child cried hopelessly._

"_It's love Gaara," Yashamaru explained, standing and taking down a small roll of white gauze to bandage his finger. "That girl you hurt lives down the street a few blocks, near the shops down there. Do you need help finding her?"_

"_No uncle. I think I understand."_

_._

_._

_._

Kankuro hoped his little brother understood, because he certainly didn't. He only felt confusion, and his head hurt. . . His entire body hurt. The images of a mere hour before faded away, dispersing into the years past it truly was, wavering, and breaking apart like sand.

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.

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"_**Kankuro!"**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

One voice he recognized, though he couldn't pin it down. . . Someone was holding him down. . . His hands were holding something. . . Blankets? . . . _I'm in bed?_ _What am I doing here? What happened to Gaara?_ A searing pain laced through Kankuro's body as he slowly fell unconscious once again.

.

.

.

_Young Kankuro had to stand on tiptoe to get his elbows onto his father's desk, "Father?"_

"_What?" The Kazekage asked snappishly, making the eight year old pause and struggle to find his words again from his stomach where they'd fallen. Finally, he took a few steps to the side of the desk and folded his arms like he'd seen his father sometimes do, looking confidant. However, one steady look, and he lowered his arms and looked at the ground._

"_Well?" his dad asked "Don't waste my time Kankuro I'm very busy right now."_

"_I just had a question." Kankuro murmured, still looking at the floor. _

_His father set the papers down and stared at him expectantly._

"_I. . ." Now that he had his chance, he wasn't sure he could do it. "I saw Gaara yesterday," he finally blurted._

_His father stood up sharply "You did? Where is he?!" he demanded._

_Kankuro ducked his head shyly, regretting the words as he spoke them, "He. . . He was by the school. . . I've seen him there a couple of times and I thought. . ."_

"_Good boy Kankuro," His father said quickly, setting a hand lighlty on his son's head then rushing to the door. "Get some Anbu in here!" he called to the nearest person available._

"_Father I wanted to ask. . ."_

"_Later Kankuro." He gave quick instructions to the nearest Anbu, their masked faces unreadable. . . Except for the eyes. They were frightened. Kankuro didn't blame them, He was frightened of his father too; a matter of fact, sometimes the kazekage downright horrified him, like now, now when he wouldn't listen to what Kankuro was trying to say. The boy was just about to try again when he realized what his father was saying. _

_Find Gaara. . . Kill him._

_When the Anbu left, Kankuro stared at his father. He hadn't realized he'd been searching for Gaara, he thought his dad was far above loosing track of someone. From what he said though, Since last week. . . When Yashamaru died. . . Gaara had been missing._

"_I thought you left," The Kazkeage said unhappily. Kankuro knew he was being told to leave. Still. . . Something kept pressing on his memory. A dark clothed puppeteer yelling at him to play with his little brother, and Gaara's sand rescuing him from the frightening gripof that man's hands._

_ He had to ask this question. "Dad, why do you want to kill Gaara? He's just little. Maybe he's not so bad."_

_His father's eyes darkened. "What makes you say that?"  
_

_Kankuro lowered his gave, "Well. . . I just thought. . ."_

"_Wait here Kankuro." The Kazekage said, pointing to the large chair behind the desk. "We'll wait for a report from our Anbu you and I. . ."_

_.._

_Several hours passed. Then, a member of the guard squad returned, glancing at Kankuro once and then whispering to the Kazkekage. _

"_Bring them here," the leader of the village commanded. The shinobi looked shocked, but nodded and left, casting one more glance towards Kankuro before escaping out the window._

"_What is he bringing father?" Kankuro asked, still feeling slightly giddy about sitting in his father's chair. _

"_The bodies," The Kazekage replied._

_..  
_

_What they brought back, was not a body, but a bloody mass of. . . Something, blood-red sand falling from the forms. Kankuro felt sick to his stomach and managed, only barely, not to throw up on his father's paperwork. _

_The Kaezkage didn't react in any way, but excused the shinobi in the room and turned to his son, who cowered behind the desk. He took the boy by the shoulder and stood him up. "Someday. You will be strong enough to do what's right with your village." he said, holding Kankuro's eyes with his own. "Until then. _Stay away_ from Gaara, or you to will end up like _that_. As if killing your mother wasn't enough, he will not hesitate to kill _you___."_

___ Kankuro trembled, his father's heavy hand the only thing supporting him. "I. . .I. . ." His eyes darted to the bodies on the floor. He didn't see the Anbu elite though, all he could see was the way he pictured his mother. . . Dead. He clamped his eyes shut "I'LL Kill him!"_

_His father's eyes narrowed and for once, the Kazekage was speechless. ". . . Your time will come. I'll tell you when your time comes."_

_nodding, and trembling, Kankuro fell to the floor. A part of him was torn to revenge on Suna lives. Another wondered, with morbid amusement, how two Anbu could die facing a short six year old kid. But he knew he wasn't ever getting close to his brother again, it was too horrifying._

_._

_._

_._

When Kankuro woke up again, he was staring at the worried face of his sister, and a mop of pink hair, tied back with a tie and a Leaf village headband.

"Where's Gaara?" Kankuro cried, throwing his weak hands downwards as he struggled into a sitting position. Temari set both hands on his shoulders "Shh. . . It's alright. . . We've got help. . . Lay down."

Kankuro lay back, staring at the ceiling as his entire body throbbed. His head spun.

It hurt to listen to those around him, but he soon began to piece together what was going on. . .Where he was. The realization made him scream.

He was back. Gaara was still gone. . . He hadn't managed to change a single thing.

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"_Stop Frowning Kankuro. You'll tick him off!" Temari smacked her brother with the edge of her fan. _

_The genin guarded the blow with his hand, and stepped to the side, "Well I'm not going to smile at him!"_

"_Shut up!"_

_The two stood in nervous silence for a while, Temari mumbling to herself quietly. Kankuro didn't make a sound. Baki appeared a few moments later. He was to be their 'sensei' for the exams, their team captain. _

_A few minuets later, the Kazekage appeared through the training yard gate, The Demon of the Sand following._

"_Relax." Temari hissed at Kankuro, stepping forward. "Morning," she made a general greeting. Only Baki returned the politeness._

_The Kazekage stopped, standing in the light weight sand. "All four of you have been briefed on our plan. I expect you to do your part."_

_They all nodded, though Gaara stood still._

"_Good. Baki's in charge," The Kazekage said, "You leave for the exams in a week. Be ready." He turned abruptly and left._

_Kankuro's eyes narrowed as he stared at the dark rimmed pools of aqua on his brother's face. Even while the eye color was that of cool water, it still somehow reminded him of blood._

"_Stop staring at me or I'll kill you." Gaara said, turning and walking to the other side of Baki, and as far away from Kankuro as he , he tried to anyways.  
_

_Kankuro followed him, "Try it," he snapped. _

_Gaara turned, looking like he just might._

"_Stop!" Temari and Baki both cried, Temari grabbed Kankuro, and Baki grabbed Gaara. _

_Both brothers shrugged away from their captors, both looked each other in the eye. . . and for some reason, neither attacked the other._

_._

_._

_.  
_

"You have Karasu right?!"

Kankuro felt numb, not even the painless numb, that would have been too kind. He listened to each statement about what had happened, and it all became all too clear. The two and a half days he spent in the past, rather in dream or in reality, where the same three days he'd slowly been dying from Sasori's poison, three days with Gaara in the Akatsuki's hands.

"Kankuro calm down, you're in no position to get up right now," Temari said, trying to comfort him.

He pushed her away. "I need my puppets!"

The couple medics under Sakura's command, quickly went to retrieve the pieces of Kankuro's puppets. Kankuro stared at the doorway. When they returned, he immediately found the piece he wanted, pulling the scrap of cloth from the weapon's fingers. "This."

Kakashi of The Sharingan raised an eyebrow, taking the piece of cloth and looking at it quizzically. "A piece of Sasori's cloak. . . You are truly a nin of Sunaguke. You've made a success out of a failure. We will find Gaara kun, and quickly."

Kankuro lay back on the bed, breaths came unevenly. His lungs hurt. His skin still felt burnt from Gaara's sand, though Sakura and Temari assured him it was only the effects of the poison combined with the medication.

He didn't know anymore.

One thing was certain, he wasn't successful at all. This Konaha shinobi could complement him all he liked, but it meant nothing. He was constantly failing.

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.

.

_'Why did he send us on a mission?'_ _Kankuro wondered, barely dodging several blades and rolling in the rocks out of range. He hit face first into the hard shell. It was two days before they were to leave for the exam, but their father had told them they were needed, all three of them and Baki, on a mission; an A rank near the mountains. _

_Kankuro moved, yanking his puppet forward as an array of kunai flew at him. The heavy thump of metal on wood echoed across the sun-bathed terrain, the light almost a reddish color as the sun was setting. Kankuro suddenly felt himself slip as his puppet was swept away. He fell backwards, gritting his teeth and swearing quietly. He raised his arms for the only proper shield available as a mass of paper bombs flew towards him. _

_Suddenly, an arm of sand appeared before him, blocking each weapon as it exploded harmlessly to the side. Kankuro spun, staring at Gaara __who, with raised hands and curved fingers, sent the wave of destruction towards the enemy shinobi. Their cries cut off almost instantly. _

_Breathing harshly Kankuro growled, "It's about time!"_

"_Maybe you should just be grateful I saved your existence." Gaara replied bluntly, glaring. "As useless as it is."_

"_Then why did you?" Kankuro snapped._

_Gaara turned, the stained sand returning to its gourd. "Because I told Father I wouldn't kill you." he said._

_._

_._

_._

"We don't have a few days!" Kankuro shouted. "Gaara is jinchuuriki of the sand and Kazekage of this village just how logn do you think they'll keep someone like that alive?!"

"But they did." Kakashi said, storing a few more items into his ninja bag. His voice was forceful, but he still maintained the standard Anbu calm. "From the reports he was carried away, injured and weak yes, but alive."

"He's not weak!"

"Kankuro!" Temari stared at her brother in dismay,"They're trying to help us!"

Kankuro's vision went hazy again and he took several deep breaths. _I should have done something. . . He obviously didn't get the message I wrote. . . I should have done something to stop Yashamaru. I should have found a way to warn him this was going to happen sooner! Why was I too shocked and slow to stop him?!" _

"Come on! let's get going people!" an overly happy voice shouted from the doorway. It was Naruto Uzumaki's voice.

Kankuro stared at his hands, it took effort to move, even a little. Temari was the only thing holding him up right now. He could barely move, barely think. He shut his eyes, envisioning six year old Gaara; Gaara holding an old soccer ball; brown bag of medicine. . . A gourd full of sand; Sitting in an empty desert all by himself.

The sneer on the Akatsuki member's face when he had won the prize, beaten an enemy worth fighting.

Kankuro's eyes opened again and he pushed Temari away, sitting up the best he could despite the pain.

"Kankuro be careful!" Temari grabbed him by the shoulder, sending a lace of pain up his side. He gritted his teeth. He simply. . Couldn't move. Looking up, he stared at Naruto and Sakura, both of whom were busy arguing over the supplies in one of their packs. A part of him wanted to hate them, hate them for their happiness and lightheartedness when his brother could be dead. The other part of him knew that he owed them everything.

.

.

.

"_Kankuro are you okay?!" _

_How could the attack on Konoha have gone so badly? He hadn't thought he'd hear his sister's voice again. _

_She grabbed him and helped him up, "Kankuro snap out of it! We have to go. Gaara's gone mad!"_

What else is new? _Kankuro thought still feeling light headed, chakra drained from fighting the genin from the bug clan. _

_He limped, leaning on Temari's arm, working with the bit of chakra he still had until he felt stronger. Somewhere nearby, he heard a roar of a beast, and his fingers clenched into Temari's shoulder._

"_Ouch Kankuro you baby just. . ./"_

"_We have to go back," he said quickly._

"_WHAT?!"_

_Kankuro took several even breaths, "If Gaara really wanted to kill us he would have done it by now. We're a team aren't we?"_

_._

_._

_._

"**Uzumaki Naruto. . ."**

**The genin turned, "Ya?"**

"**. . .Please save my little brother. . ." _again _**

.

.

.

"Kankuro you shouldn't be up."

The two stood in a small block of ground right outside the hospital where wimpy trees had sort of been planted, then mostly killed as was the way with the desert.

"I'm fine," He waved Temari's concern away, "What's been going on?"

"What do you mean?" Temari asked carefully.

"Gaara," he said vehemently "Has Konoha sent word? Did we send backup yet? Did they find him?"

Temari shook her head. "No Kankuro, they left the other day, we haven't heard from them yet."

"What about our team?"

"Lady Chiyo went with Konoha."

"And?"

"And what? Are you sure you don't want to sit down?"

"Temari! haven't _we_ sent _anybody_?"

". . . No." She said, turning away from her brother, and sticking both hands behind her fan, running her fingers along it's well-worn edge. "I've been called on border control on the south. You too. . . Once you recover fully."

"_What_!?"

"We're weak right now Kankuro," Temari said, holding him with fierce eyes. "Gaara would have wanted us to stay here and protect our village. You know that."

". . .Would have. . ."

Temari paled as if she hadn't realized she'd used the past tense, "I. . . I didn't mean that. . . "

"ya right." Kankuro muttered, pushing past her.

"Kankuro!"

"I'm going Temari."

"But. . . We don't have the council's permission yet, I've tried!"

"Don't you get it?" Kankuro yelled, fists shaking. "He's just like us Temari. Get that through your head. _He can die_!"

He'd never seen his sister look so close to tears before.

"I. . . I know Kankuro."

"Ya but you don't care." He spun, limping down the path limping towards the center of the village.

"Kankuro you can't talk to me like that!" His sister screamed after him, "I _care_!"

Kankuro touched his hand to his forehead. He still felt sick and dizzy. Somehow, being in the past, dreaming about the past. . .

It brought every other memory he'd ever had to the forefront to his mind, and it hurt. It hurt because it reminded him of all the memories he wanted to make up for. . . And couldn't.

* * *

_Thank you to the people who have left reviews for me, and given me the courage to finish this up. They mean a lot to me._


	6. Chapter 5: Shadow of Memory part: 2

_**Author note: **Dun dun dun! Final chapter. It's about time._

* * *

**~Path of Sand: A Kankuro story~**

**Chapter 5: Shadow of Memory (part 2)**

Kankuro threw himself onto his bed, the voices of the council running through his head like shrill bells.

"_We only allowed him to become Kazekage to keep the demon happy."_

"_With Gaara gone, We are safer now than we were before. . ."_

"_Maybe this is all for the best. . ."_

_How could they think that?!_ They used every excuse in the book; 'we have low military strength', 'we must concentrate on guarding the village', 'we don't have enough information to go after the Akatsuki. . .'

Then they flat-out admitted that they really didn't care what happened to Gaara at all, they were even glad he was gone.

Well to heck with the council!

Sitting up quickly, Kankuro swung his arm around in anger, hoping to hit something. He cringed as the shattering of glass rang through his cluttered basement bedroom. He stared numbly at the broken picture frame at his feet. The bits of broken glass running across his and his sibling's faces like a scar, centered at Gaara like a huge gaping hole. Trembling, Kankuro picked up the picture frame. Chunks of glass fell to the floor.

_I wonder if he knew_. . . Kankuro thought, staring at Gaara's face. His brother had his almost-but-not-quite smile caught on camera the day he became Kazekage. Kankuro couldn't help but wonder if the smile was truly a mask hiding the knowledge that the council just didn't want to get hurt, wanted to keep him satisfied.

Kankuro's fingers curled around the frame. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure what was real, what was truth. He'd never hated everyone so much before; hated the council for their carelessness, Temari for her selfishness, Gaara for his weakness, and most of all he hated himself.

While he was off in La-La-land, trying to change the past, the future had kept going. . . And now it was too late.

". . Kankuro?"

"What?" he snapped as his sister walked in, taking a seat beside him on the bed.

"I'm ready to help you now," she said quietly.

He looked away, frowning.

The blond kunoichi clasped her hands in her lap, playing with her red sash, "You were wrong you know. . . I do care. Gaara's my little brother. . . And as much as I used to hate him. . . To be afraid. . ." She looked up sadly "I have not been afraid for a long time now. You know that."

Kankuro let out a breath, "I know Temari. . .It's just. . ./"

"It's just the council put me in charge of the village's defense!" Temari said quickly "Don't you think it would be good for Gaara to have a village to come home to?!"

It was clear she was still angry at him.

"I know Temari. I'm just. . ./"

"You're just _what_?" she demanded. Her voice was still rather quiet sounding, which was almost as freaky coming from her as yelling was.

"Let's just say I have a clear recollection of what life USED to be like." Kankuro said bitterly, setting the picture frame face-up on the nightstand.

"Well none of that's important now." Temari stated bluntly.

Kankuro cringed. She was wrong, she had to be. There had to be some importance to the past, if not then why. . .

"The council was right in one respect," he said quietly. "We don't have enough information to make a proper rescue. . . We don't even know where he is."

"And we don't have the man power," Temari added, her voice calming. "I mean, Gaara kept a lot of the high ranked shinobi around this last week. I think he even refused a couple 'A' ranked missions to keep them here; but they've all been sent out to guard the village and outposts.

"Then we'll take anyone we can get." Kankuro said, "The council might not care, but there's a ton of genin ranked ninja, and young chunin who remember Gaara from academy. They'll do something about it."

"Especially the girls," Temari mumbled behind a cough, almost earning a smile from her brother; though his mood darkened again instantly.

"Alright then. Temari, you gather up the kids, I'm going to grab some intel." He stood up, "Oh and. . . Temari. . Thank you."

"Hey, I'm not a horrible person you know."

Kankuro nodded once "We've all learned a lot over the years." he stated; then left his sister sitting on the bed with a slightly confused look on her face.

.

.

.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Kankuro demanded. He was standing in the doorway of Gaara's office. Three newly ranked chunin were going about the room with boxes, moving things from shelves and gathering up papers, pulling some them from their neat positions in their pigeon holes and setting them on the desk in wayward stacks or putting them into heavy cardboard boxes. At Kankuro's voice, they all turned and stared at him. The puppeteer walked into the room, staring at the walls where the missing items glaring obviously and blankly back at him.

It wasn't like Gaara had many personal items anyway. Kankuro walked to one of the boxes on the desk. It was nearly full, holding a couple old books, a scrap of paper with a short list in Gaara's hand writing, and two small picture frames - one matching Kankuro's broken one. The other was older . . . A picture of their mother.

Kankuro looked up from the box. "What's going on?" He asked through gritted teeth, feeling that he had a good idea already about what was happening.

"The Council needed Gaara-Sama's paperwork." One young man stuttered.

A dark haired girl set her box down with a clunk. "They wanted the room cleaned up so they could use it."

"Get out," Kankuro said, grasping the edge of the box in a shaking hand.

"Get out!" He yelled again when they didn't move. They looked at him, then set their things down quickly. The girl stared at him stubbornly. Kankuro made a low growl, feeling the box crease under his touch. "Are you deaf? I said get out! _Now_!"

They darted away at his fury. He slammed the door as hard as he could behind them, pounding his fist against the wood.

_Yes, Gaara I'm banging up your office. Serves you right for not being here._

Throwing off his hood and tossing it onto the office chair, Kankuro marched over to the desk, nearly tripping on a fifth, smaller box where a small potted cactus, and Gaara's genin forehead protector were being stored. Kankuro hit the table, causing the boxes to rattle. He swore quietly, but it didn't help.

Gaara never kept many trinkets, but the few things he had; the plant, the headband, the pictures. . . They were his. It was proof to Suna that he could truly grow attached to something of material value, that he didn't see everything as something to destroy, that he existed! This was Gaara's room. He'd been gone what? Not even a week; and not only was there no attempt at a rescue, they were moving his stuff out without even bothering to think what he might feel coming back.

Kankuro took a few breaths, trying to calm himself. He moved each box out of the way under the desk; replacing the cactus plant on the shelf, and the pictures on the corner of the desk near the lamp. Then he knelt by the filing cabinet to start in on the task he had originally intended.

.

.

.

Kankuro cursed quietly. No Akatsuki file was listed. "Your filing system sucks Gaara." he whispered. He tried other keywords, 'attack', 'securities', 'rank S'. . . He had to go through each file one by one, as nothing was in alphabetical order.

Kankuro's search came to a halt when he heard footsteps nearby. Looking up, he found Baki standing by the door, a thin folder in his hands. "Looking for this Kankuro?"

Kankuro straightened, still feeling minor pains from his three days of near death. He snatched the folder from Baki's hands and flipped it open.

Only two Akatsuki members were known, thanks to information from Konoha. No other names were listed, though there were some sketchy descriptions of suspected individuals.

"They've been after tailed beasts the entire time it seems, which was why they attacked the leaf three years ago. No one knows what they're planning," Baki said.

Kankuro scanned the reports. There wasn't anything to go on. "But Gaara. . ."

"He's a jinchuuriki, you know that. That made him the target all along. It wasn't the village, or even the Kazekage they were after."

Kankuro snapped the folder shut, holding the paper tightly, "So they're after him just because of Shukaku?!" His voice rose, and he could hear the tremble in it. "Someone else should have fought them then," He said, "Gaara should have hidden."

Baki chuckled wryly. "You saw how powerful that man was, Gaara couldn't even defeat him. The entire village would have been in ruins, hundred of people would have died, and the end result would have been the same.

Kankuro turned away. "It's not fair." He muttered, knowing he sounded childish but not caring. He tossed the file onto Gaara's desk. The file folder skid several feet across the surface, hitting both picture frames and sending them crashing onto the floor.

"Crap!" Kankuro looked down at the broken glass, he knelt, carefully picking up the pieces.

Baki watched, unamused. "You're a shinobi Kankuro, since when ave things been fair in your world?"

"I don't want to hear it." The puppeteer snapped, shaking the pictures off as glass clattered to the floor.

A folded piece of paper fell to the ground near his knees.

Kankuro gasped quietly, picking it up. The handwriting was very familiar, as it was his own. Baki leaned over his shoulder to get a better look.

The note he'd written to Gaara, warning him about the Akatsuki. . . It seemed like just two days ago, and yet a lifetime all the same. The paper was old, one edge torn slightly. He turned it over in his hands, freezing in place as he realized that not only was this real, not only did this mean that the last few days of his life weren't just a fevered dream, but the back side of the paper was no longer blank. A thin line of Gaara's neat handwriting ran across the upper half of the page.

_Kankuro,_

_In case I can't change what happens tonight. Thank you. _

_Take care of Suna for me._

_~ Gaara_

Kankuro let the paper fall to his feet. He'd known?

_So it wasn't just a dream. . ._

Baki picked up the letter. "What is this?"

Kankuro took it from him, stuffing it into his pocket. "The Council will do nothing? They'll move him out when he's not even dead?"

"Kankuro. . ."

"I'm going after him."

"Give the Council time Kankuro!"

"I'm done waiting." Kankuro said angrily. "They don't care."

"Of course they do."

"NO! He's the jinchuuriki right? Our 'human sacrifice'? Well, I'll tell you what Gaara is. He's my brother. Got it? My family. I don't care what the Council decides. I have some promises to keep, and they're long overdue."

Kankuro marched past Baki, towards the door.

_I had one more chance. . .wasted it. . . It won't happen again._

"You would leave without the permission of the Council?!" Baki yelled after him, hurrying to catch up. "abandon the village?"

"For only two reasons; Gaara or Temari." Kankuro replied without looking back.

Baki grabbed Kankuro by the shoulder, yanking till the two faced each other in an awkward, half toppled over sideways position. "You'll become a missing nin if you leave without permission. Don't throw your life away."

Kankuro shrugged away and kept walking. The words didn't even sting. Several plans were forming in his head, several that might just work.

"Kankuro wait! Give me an hour." Baki caught up with the young man once more. "An hour to convince the them to gather a team."

"I'm gathering my puppets now," Kankuro replied, " I'm leaving in half an hour."

"Kankuro you can't do this."

"I _am_ doing this." Kankuro said, finally turning to face Baki. there was almost a smirk on his face, eyes determined under his spiky brown hair. "Better hurry with the Council." he warned before marching down the hall. "Because I'm not sitting back and watching again."

.

.

.

Kankuro entered the test lab of the hospital. He'd passed the medics easily as they all knew who he was and just felt grateful he was still alive.

Opening a small drawer, Kankuro found the vial he was looking for. It was small, marked with warning signs, and filled with some odd colored liquid. Sakura had signed the label, certifying what it was.

Clutching the sample of poison in his hand, diluted with his own bodily fluids as it was, Kankuro shut the lab door and walked outside. He hoped he wasn't going to need it. He had no clue how the poison had worked or if it would work again, but he had to have some sort of backup. It was going to take him a while to catch up with the leaf village team.

"There you are!" Temari ran up to him as he stepped down the hospital steps. "Baki's been looking everywhere for you."

"Too bad."

"Kankuro, He got us a team."

"_What_?!"

His sister rolled her eyes at him "Ya baka, come on," she led him down the street. Near the gate, countless faces stared at him, waiting impatiently. Kankuro recognized several from his days as academy instructor. Several others were shinobi from a team Gaara had assigned him for a couple missions a few months back, and puppeteers from his core.

Baki walked through the crowed, "The second team will follow in a few hours. Give them time to get their stuff."

"S. . second team?"

"Ya." Baki said, holding out a hand. He held Kankuro's black hood, "You left this in the office."

Kankuro took it, adjusting it on his head so that the forehead protector sat straight ."Thanks."

"hm." Baki turned, gesturing for Ebizo – the Honored Grandfather himself, to take charge.

"Let's go let's go!" a young voice from the crowed shouted.

"Ya let's hurry!" another agreed.

Temari folded her arms in front of herself and smiled at Kankuro "Is your sister good, or is she good?"

"uh? Did my sister do anything today?" Kankuro teased, making a quick headcount.

"I hate you."

Kankuro smirked.

"What's that?" Temari asked

He looked down in his hand, where he still held the small vial of poison. Quickly, he stuffed it into the pocket of his trousers. "Just some extra stuff," he replied, glancing over the dense crowed of shinobi once more ". . . I don't think we'll need it though."

.

.

.

**Gaara was dead. **

Gaara lay stiffly in the grass, his eyes closed like two dark holes in his face, as if he could have been sleeping. But the small fact that Kankuro noticed most?

Was the complete lack of sand around Gaara's person.

There was no thin layer of sand shield, no stray grains floating along his face. . . No sand. Which meant, more then anything else did, that Gaara was really and truly dead.

Kankuro averted his eyes, counting shinobi in their group as if planning their return, Baki hadn't lied. The second group of Suna nin, twice as large as the first, had got there quickly, catching up to them just a few hours ago. His fingers curled around the small glass vial tucked deep into his didn't help. Right now, any other potential plans seemed dull and flat. . . Lifeless. He tried to find something to distract himself with. He acted as if it didn't matter, as if he didn't care; acted like he couldn't hear the girls on the other side of the clearing, sobbing. He couldn't ignore them, the sound tore through every part of his body.

Biting into his sleeve, and clutching the last bit of hope in his pocket, Kankuro sunk to his knees, giving up even on that because it obviously hadn't worked the first time. . . He hadn't managed to salvage anything.

Feeling Temari as she knelt beside him he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

He thought about his young self, refusing to play with his little brother. That Kankuro wouldn't have cared if Gaara had died. Six years after that, at the chunin exams, Kankuro and Temari probably would have been relieved that their brother was gone, no longer trying to kill them.

However, these last three years: Gaara becoming Kazekage, the small house in Suna they shared together as siblings, their training sessions practicing with and against each other, and the evening nights when Temari and Kankuro would help Gaara with his paperwork – and usually end up talking or yelling instead. . .

Everything had changed. All Kankuro's time in the past meant little. It was the now he hated most, the knowledge that his future would be one without his brother.

.

.

.

"Gaara. . . Gaara!"

It was Naruto's voice.

Kankuro stared, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, Lady Chiyo used. . . That jutsu.

"Gaara come on." Naruto urged, giving the Kazekage's shoulder a small shake. With that, Gaara's eyes opened, and he slowly sat up. Temari gasped and Kankuro ran forward, kneeling at his brother's side, though for some reason he couldn't quite touch him, for fear he might disintegrate away. "Gaara, you alright?"

His brother stared at him, blankly, shaking a little.

"Move, give him some space! Show some respect!" Temari shoved Naruto and Kankuro out of the way, while still managing to block a couple kunoichi with her outspread arms. She leaned forward, placing a hand on either side of Gaara "Gaara talk to me! Do you feel okay? Are you alright?!"

Kankuro rubbed his head, glaring out of habit, but still nervous that Gaara hadn't answered yet. Slowly, Gaara nodded and Kankuro sighed in relief. He wasn't sure what being dead did to a person.

The puppeteer turned, walking over and helping Naruto to his feet. He laughed lightly, sounding strained and fake even to his own ears. "You know they always go for the elite type. Don't let it bother you."

Slowly, his hand released the glass vial of Sasori's poison, leaving it in the depths of his pocket

.

.

.

In the darkness, lit only by a scattering of campfires, Kankuro sat still, his back turned to both his siblings as he spun the poison capsule around in his fingers, balancing it on his raised knee.

Around him dozens of shinobi were either resting or actively guarding their campsite. Somehow, even those awake seemed restful. The people of Suna made a large, protective spiral with their Kazekage as their center.

Anyone would be a fool to try an attack. Someone looking for trouble would have found some, but would not have lived long enough to know it.

_So what was the point?_ Kankuro wondered, watching the liquid in the vial move and swirl as he spun the bit of glass. The note he'd written to Gaara two days/nine years ago was still inside his pocket; he could feel it like a weight sitting there, pining his thoughts to the subject. Somehow, it all seemed so pointless at the moment. It hadn't helped at all and yet. . . Things had managed to work out. He felt like it had to mean something.

That was his biggest question now. Why had he been given a chance, and yet fail so miserably? What was he to do with the information he had about Gaara, about Yashamaru?

If he felt to. . . Could he use the poison one more time to try to do better?

"He's gone."

Gaara's voice was so quiet that it took Kankuro a moment to realize he'd said anything. Turning, Kankuro leaned forward to hear better, as his brother was resting on the ground under several light blankets.

At the same time, Temari turned from where she was sitting at Gaara's feet and rolled onto her stomach, nearly hitting Kankuro in the head with her fan "What did you say?" she asked with concern.

Soon, the three of them were breathing in each others' faces, As Gaara refused to talk in anything more than a mere whisper.

"Shukaku. He's gone. That's what the Akatsuki were after. . . that's why I died." Gaara's voice fell bluntly silent, his eyes a sort of sleepy gray-blue, Kankuro had never seen his brother look so tired. . .or so worried.

_Gone. . . _Kankuro watched Gaara for a moment, then glanced at Temari, who had a grim, sort of shocked look on her face. _The sand demon's gone. . ._

"Don't get excited Kankuro," Temari hissed quietly, "Who knows what they'll think if the Council finds out before we decide what this means."

"Hey, I'm not saying a thing." Kankuro whispered back, glancing over his shoulder once. He turned back to Temari, their foreheads close. "But don't you think they'll be happy about it? Heck, good riddance!"

"Well ya, but darn it Kankuro. We don't know how this will affect Gaara yet. We're going to have to be careful. As far as the Council's concerned they might have just lost their biggest strength"

"Alright, We'll keep our eyes open. We won't let anyone know till we figure out what this means for Gaara's chakra and the sand: but they're going to have to know eventually because if the Akatsuki are capturing Bijuu. . ."

Temari nodded slowly, "That means they're planning something big, and probably going after everyone else too."

Kankuro nodded, "Right. We need to talk to the other kages, see what everyone knows. Rather they like Suna or not they can't ignore this," He turned to his right slightly, "Little bro, I think this means we need. . . Gaara?"

"SHH!" Temari hissed.

**Gaara was sound asleep.**

* * *

_~Thanks for reading~_


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